A Golden Voice
by FruitPastilles
Summary: Izuku wasn't Quirkless when he received One For All. Of course, it's just typical he didn't find out until Yuuei. It helps that everyone likes his singing voice but less helpful when Bakugou calls him Rapunzel a la Tangled. Slight AU where Izuku can heal others if he hums or sings to them. Oh, and everyone thinks he's the most precious thing ever, as if they hadn't already. OOC.
1. Chapter 1

**A Golden Voice**

 **Summary:** Izuku wasn't Quirkless when he received One For All. Of course, it's just typical he didn't find out until Yuuei. It helps that everyone likes his singing voice but less helpful when Bakugou calls him Rapunzel a la Tangled. Slight AU where Izuku can heal others if he hums or sings to them. Oh, and everyone thinks he's the most precious thing ever, as if they hadn't already. Probs OOC.

* * *

Izuku gently tapped his pen against the desk over the buzz of background noise in the classroom. Aizawa had entered the room that morning, taken roll-call and then declared it a free study before napping upright in the corner as if trying to fool them he was watching them.

Knowing Aizawa, he probably was.

Sighing almost irritably at his science homework, Izuku shoved the papers haphazardly into his bag before pulling out the mathematics handout they'd been given the previous day and decided to work on that instead.

Humming softly to himself, he started to plug the numbers into his calculator and equations to solve them, and only realised how loud his voice was when the class went silent around him. Clearing his throat, he peered up to see nearly everyone staring at him.

"What the _fuck,"_ Bakugou bit out and almost immediately Aizawa was reprimanding with a mutter of, "Language."

"Um, Izuku-kun?" Uraraka said slowly, face bewildered. "You're _glowing."_

Izuku immediately blushed and just blinked at her until she also blushed at the second meaning of her words.

"N-No, I mean, yes, but you're also actually _glowing."_

"You turned into a nightlight!" Kirishima cackled.

"Eh?" Izuku asked, still just embarrassed and equally confused.

"You were humming and started to glow, not unlike a lamp," Iida offered in curt explanation. "It was the opening song to a popular morning show. I often watch it myself before school."

"My mum plays it in the background when she does the dishes? I _glowed?_ " Izuku couldn't keep the confusion from his voice. Bakugou was still looking at him like he'd grown two heads.

"There's only one thing for it," Aizawa sighed heavily, as if not being part of the conversation had tired him further after only just waking up. "Izuku, you need to sing again."

"Sing what?"

"Anything."

Izuku shuffled nervously in his seat, before folding his hands on the desk and clearing his throat and started to sing the first thing that came to mind – Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

He didn't even get past the second line before he noticed his fingers gaining a faint yellow sheen that, when he reached halfway into the third line, started to grow in intensity.

By that point, he stopped singing and stared at his fingers in bewilderment as his skin slowly faded back to its normal colour.

"Well." Aizawa's voice broke the silence. "While rare to have a second Quirk, it's not unheard of. Congratulations, Izuku, you glow when you sing. Everyone, back to work."

Later, when the study period had ended, Uraraka approached Izuku and shyly murmured, "You have a nice singing voice."

Izuku fumbled his words before he managed to murmur a thanks, and as he followed her and Iida dutifully to their next class, his other friend also affirmed his enjoyment of Izuku's voice which was enough to send him into a blushing mess.

Strangely enough, despite a big breakfast, he was nearly starving.

* * *

Izuku didn't find out his singing did anymore than make him glow until nearly two weeks later during an outdoor lesson where they were paired off and mock-fought against two others.

Kirishima hadn't been pulling his punches when raging against Izuku and his partner, Tsuyu. She'd taken a solid hit to the face when trying to duck and then jump out of the way and had immediately heaved awfully and collapsed, her nose gushing blood.

Izuku quickly shouted, "We forfeit!" and let a grateful Tsuyu lean into his side as the two of them half stumbled half staggered towards the outskirts.

"It doesn't look serious, and you don't have a concussion for sure," Aizawa said after a moment's contemplation when the two reached him. "Might have a black eye but the bleeding will stop. You can visit Recovery Girl when the lesson has finished."

"Sorry, Midoriya. You had to stop because of me." Tsuyu's voice was muffled, her hand clasped over her already swelling nose and face.

"That's alright Tsuyu, so long as you're okay!"

Tsuyu gave a half smile half grimace when the action pained her face. "I hurt, but if Aizawa-sensei says I'll be fine, I'll be fine."

Izuku nodded in reply and helped her ease down to sit on a bench near where bags and excess clothing had been left when the outdoor activities had started. Digging through his bag, Izuku pulled out his notebook, eager to take notes on his classmates' abilities.

Unable to stop what had now seemed to become habit, Izuku began softly humming under his breath as he intently watched and scribbled in his book. So absorbed in his work, he flinched and nearly jumped out of his skin when Tsuyu's hand slapped down on his wrist and gripped tightly.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry! Was the glow annoying you? I – " Izuku looked up to his companion and faltered when he was faced with clear skin and only the faintest smudges of blood left over from what had been the beginning of an impressive black eye.

"What…?" He began, pen falling limp in his grasp. "You're okay?"

"It's your singing," Tsuyu said, wide-eyed, wider than normal. "We have to tell Aizawa-sensei."

"I mean, it could have been that it wasn't as bad as it looked?" Izuku offered weakly. "There's no guarantee it was me, right?"

The look Tsuyu gave him as her hand gently squeezed around his wrist made him wince.

"Okay," Izuku quietly acquiesced. "Let's tell Aizawa-sensei."

Izuku let himself get dragged across the field to where Aizawa was assessing the end of another fight, Todoroki and Kaminari versus Sero and Bakugou. Kaminari's arm was hanging limply by his side, skin singed and bleeding from Bakugou's explosions.

"Aizawa-sensei," Tsuyu greeted firmly when the assessment had finished. "We have something important to tell you."

"Has the swelling gotten worse?" Aizawa asked, turning to face them and pausing in whatever he was going to say next at seeing Tsuyu's determined, unharmed face.

"No. Midoriya, tell him."

Aizawa's passive look turned to Izuku, who shuffled nervously under the scrutiny and said in one, breathless rush, "WhenIsangithealedTsuyu'sface."

"Again, slower," Aizawa retorted, ignoring the aggravated snort Bakugou gave, the other teen seemingly irritated by Izuku's presence alone.

"When…When I sang, I hummed, it…it healed Tsuyu's face."

Aizawa was quiet for a long moment, the only sound distant shouts from other's fighting, some laughter and soft explosions.

"Kaminari, do you mind if Izuku practices this theory on you?"

Kaminari grimaced and muttered, "I don't know, man…I guess?"

Izuku smiled wanly at his classmate, his heart hammering in his chest at being put on the spot and shuffled closer to Kaminari.

"Then, please excuse me?" Izuku glanced over at Aizawa, unsure, but when the teacher did nothing but look on impatiently, Izuku cleared his throat, stared at Kaminari's injured shoulder to avoid looking at his face and began to sing Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.

The glow started off slowly as before and Izuku was hyper-aware of everyone staring at him as he sang quietly at Kaminari. However, like Tsuyu had said it would, the wound on Kaminari's shoulder began to knit together, the angry red burn giving way to clear, unblemished skin beneath. By the time Izuku had stuttered to a stop, the only sign that Kaminari had been hurt in the first place was his ruined sleeve.

"Are you telling me Deku is _Rapunzel?"_ Bakugou blurted, unable to keep the cruel humour from his voice.

Izuku blushed, but abruptly raised his hand to his face at the feeling of warmth blooming under his nose. Bakugou's smirk faltered when Izuku pulled his hand away to find blood staining his fingertips.

"O-Oh," Izuku said slowly, and abruptly staggered to the side. If it weren't for Todoroki steadying him, he would have hit the floor.

"Midoriya?" Todoroki asked, and grunted as Izuku's nominal weight leaning into him became all of sudden much more, Izuku's head lolling limply onto his shoulder, his face pale and the blood against his face stark.

"Oi, what the fuck did you do?" Bakugou snarled, and was stopped by Aizawa's hand on his chest.

"Recovery quirks without some sort of set back are rare. Recovery Girl uses the patient's own energy to heal up until the point until the body can't offer anymore without causing more damage. Izuku obviously uses his own body stores to completely heal an injury without a stopper," Aizawa mused. "Todoroki, can you take him to the infirmary?"

"Of course," Todoroki murmured, but before he could adjust Izuku's weight in his arms, Kaminari swooped in and scooped up the tiny, but unexpectedly hefty body.

"Don't worry! I'll take him, he helped me after all!" Kaminari grinned brightly, shifting Izuku so he was more evenly distributed.

Off to the side, a vein pulsed in Bakugou's head.

"It doesn't matter who goes, so long as he gets there," Aizawa sighed exasperatedly, and then looked back out into the field as someone whooped in glee.

"Then it's settled!" Kaminari trotted off towards the distant school building, and no one said a thing as, not even thirty seconds later, Bakugou was storming after him, latent concern for his childhood friend giving him what Kaminari called a 'constipated look'.

* * *

Izuku woke up to the sound of hushed arguing and hunger pains so bad they almost made him want to be sick. He must have moved, or made sound, because Uraraka's quiet voice was exclaiming, "Izuku-kun!" and a soft, slightly cold hand settled on his forehead.

"Midoriya, are you okay?" Iida was next, unable to keep the intensity from his voice, and Izuku blinked open bleary eyes to see Iida leaning over the bed he was in, Uraraka perched in the chair next to him. At the end of the bed, Bakugou and Kaminari seemed in the middle of a heated, quiet argument.

"Umm…" Izuku croaked, and as he tried to sit up, he felt something tug at the crook of his elbow, his eyes drifting to an IV attached to him, slowly dripping some unidentified fluid into him.

"Recovery Girl put you on a nutrient drip," Iida explained, pushing his glasses up with slightly shaking fingers. "She said she hadn't quite seen anything like it before."

"She said it's like your body tried to burn through all the calories all at once, and then dipped into your reserves. If you hadn't had breakfast this morning, you might have gone into a coma!" Uraraka sounded like she was trying to be cheerful, but was having difficulty keeping the rampant worry out of her voice.

"It was quite something," Recovery Girl herself appeared from around the corner, peering at Izuku through squinted eyes. "I discussed this with your teachers while you were recovering, and it seems if you're going to keep up with this singing of yours, you need to uptake your calorie consumption."

Kaminari and Bakugou had gone silent obviously listening.

"I'm going to give you a ballpark, but I expect you to plan your meals accordingly. Probably around four, to five thousand calories a day should get you through."

"But – " Izuku croaked. "What if I don't heal someone during the day?"

"Even if you hum, you're helping small, latent injuries," Recovery Girl nodded towards Kaminari. "I heard you healed his shoulder. It turns out you also obliterated the beginnings of a cold developing in his system. If you're humming in class, you're doing this to _everyone_ around you. Five thousand calories. If you could avoid humming, this would be ideal. Unfortunately, we all know you're too dynamic."

Izuku blushed, but before he could reply, his stomach chose that moment to growl angrily and, unable to help himself, he gently heaved at the ache brought upon by it.

"I'm sure one of your friends will get you lunch if you ask nicely," Recovery Girl said, humour in her voice, almost drowned by Iida's enthusiasm at completing this task. "But for now I need you to finish that drip."

With that, she walked away, Iida already long gone on his quest for food.

Izuku stared at his lap, and smiled warmly at Uraraka as she curled her fingers around his hand.

"Hey," Kaminari said into the quiet as he shuffled up to the opposite side of the bed from Uraraka. "I, uh, want to apologise?" he glanced nervously at Bakugou who was glaring at him, arms stiffly folded.

"Why?" Izuku asked, head quirked to the side.

"For landing you in a hospital bed."

"O-Oh, no, don't be sorry!" Izuku offered him a bright smile. "I'm glad I could help! And I mean, better to learn about it in a safe environment than to collapse in public or anything like that right? Thank you for helping me learn about this, Kaminari-kun!"

'Kaminari-kun' Kaminari mouthed back at the unexpected addition of the affectionate honorific, and unexpectedly turned red in a blush.

Izuku tilted his head as Kaminari croaked out, "Sure, thanks," and absconded before Bakugou could kill him with looks alone.

Bakugou slowly turned his murderous look to Izuku, but his face twitched uncontrollably into something almost softer at seeing Izuku swaddled in the infirmary bed, tubes attached to him.

With an aggravated mutter of, "Idiot," he punched Izuku's ankle and stormed out of the infirmary, doors slamming behind him as he left.

Izuku was left bewildered as Uraraka giggled quietly by his side, her hand still clasped gently around his.

* * *

My determination to give all the love to one character strikes again. Probably a drabble series, and probably expect characters to be a bit out of character (probably a lot out of character to be honest.)

Hopefully you like this!

As for those of you that follow my other stories, please know that I am working on them! I actually recently had trouble with my laptop and this is the first time I've been able to use it properly in a long time.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**1\. Monster**

"Are nursery rhymes all you know?" Kirishima asked, chin in one palm, other stretched out on the desk. He'd irritated Bakugou, who'd stabbed him in the back of the hand with his pen. Izuku was already perched next to him, looking at his bloody hand critically.

"They're easy to sing," Izuku replied absentmindedly. "Why, would you prefer something different?"

"For some reason I thought you were going to tell me to suck it for questioning you."

Izuku let a smile play about his lips as he murmured, "I'm not Kacchan. I have _some_ manners at least. You want me to sing something different?"

"Nah, it's cool, I don't think you have the voice for anything I like."

Izuku's smile turned mischievous as he looked up.

"Why don't you try me?"

* * *

"Oi, Kirishima, why is your quirk active?" Ojiro asked curiously as he leaned over Kaminari's still empty desk, their classmate not yet returned from lunch.

Sero, behind him, snickered and muttered into his book, "Midoriya gave him a _hard on. Literally."_

Kirishima, already faintly blushing, turned fire truck red.

"What did I miss?"

"Midoriya," Kirishima said in a hushed voice, "Rapped that Nicki Minaj part of _'Monster'_ at me. And it was _flawless._ Just because I told him he couldn't."

Ojiro twisted in his seat to glance at Izuku, who was munching pretty intently on what looked like to be his third or fourth snack bar and, as if sensing his attention, glanced up, cheeks still full like he was a particularly green chipmunk.

"I gotta say, can't see it? He looks like a sunshine and bunnies kinda guy."

"It was beautiful," Sero confirmed as he carefully turned a page.

" _Beautiful,"_ Kirishima echoed.

"Uh, you do you then, Kirishima," Ojiro laughed, and snuck another glance at Izuku, who was gathering crumbs into his palm so he could trot to the bin and brush them out.

"I'm just pretty sure Midoriya would combust if he tried to say anything vulgar, or even attempt to swear."

"Just you wait," Kirishima muttered ominously.

* * *

 **2\. Rapunzel**

"Oh, that looks like it hurts Kacchan," Izuku noted as Bakugou limped towards the benches, his ankle already swollen and a black bruise blooming along his jaw.

"What the _fuck_ is that," was Bakugou's inelegant reply as Izuku slurped through a straw at a strangely coloured beverage.

Izuku shook his cup mournfully.

"Eating big meals makes me feel sick, so I have to drink these protein shakes that All Might and Recovery Girl make for me. Calorie uptake and all that."

Bakugou gave the cup a disgusted look and collapsed onto the bench next to Izuku.

"Get on with it then," he grunted, jerking his head towards his leg.

Izuku slowly sipped at his drink and set the plastic cup down with a soft clunk on the bench, twisting until he faced Bakugou.

Then, with a deadpan expression, he began to sing.

" _Flower, gleam and glow, let your power shine –_ gurkh!" Izuku was cut off with a grunt as Bakugou did his best attempt at a tackle from being sat down, his elbow nearly taking out Izuku's eye.

"You piece of _shit!"_ he howled, his anger barely heard over Izuku's breathless, almost frightened giggles.

"You were the one to say it!" Izuku retorted, fishing around to make sure his drink wasn't knocked over. "And you were the one to ask for help!"

Bakugou finally relented, but kept Izuku in a headlock, Izuku's head almost cradled against his chest.

"You sing that fucking song again, I'll choke you out."

"Fine," Izuku said, still catching his breath, and instead softly sang a lullaby he remembered Bakugou's mother singing to them once during a rare sleepover. If Bakugou's grip loosened so he could tangle his fingers in Izuku's hair, neither of them mentioned it.

* * *

 **3\. Self Sacrifice (Or, a normal day in Izuku's life)**

Izuku cradled his broken arm to his side, watching as All Might fought what the handsy villain had called the Nomu. While it was exciting to watch, his eyes eventually drifted towards Aizawa, Tsuyu trying her best to help stabilise him while Mineta sat there, seemingly in shock.

Around them were other scattered classmates, who seemed to drift closer to the small group they had made.

Decision come to a head in his mind, Izuku shuffled over towards Aizawa and Tsuyu until he could drop cross legged on the floor next to them, feeling the determination settle in his chest.

"Tsuyu, are you hurt?"

"No," she whispered, "Thanks to Aizawa-sensei."

"Can you gather everyone who is for me? Or, just get everyone here anyway." Izuku stared at his crumpled fingers, acutely aware of Tsuyu's scrutinizing look at his face.

"…sure," she agreed after a moment's contemplation. "If you're sure."

Izuku reached out his free hand, fingers shaking, to wrap around Aizawa's wrist. He could barely feel the feather-like pulse over the sounds of battle behind him.

"Yeah," Izuku murmured, and waited the seconds by counting out Aizawa's heartbeat until the voices became louder and his classmates gathered around him.

Izuku looked up, counting haggard faces and limp limbs, bloody fingers and bloodier bodies. Even Bakugou and Kirishima were quiet, just as shocked as they all settled onto the floor.

And when they were all close enough, Izuku began to sing, his voice warbling to begin with before increasing in strength.

" _Hush little baby, don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird."_

Someone in the group stirred, but everyone remained silent.

" _And if that mockingbird won't sing, mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring."_

Aizawa needed the most. Izuku could already feel the tug in his gut, a tightness in his chest that he could identify now that he knew what to look for.

A feathery pulse was now like a drum against his fingers.

" _And if that diamond ring turns brass, mama's gonna buy you a looking glass."_

"Izuku-kun," Uraraka whispered, fingers grasping at his shirt. "How long can you sing for before it hurts?"

Izuku just smiled back.

" _And if that looking glass gets broke, mama's gonna buy you a billy goat."_

There was blood behind his teeth and a storm in his chest, it hurt so much.

Recovery Girl's many warnings rang in his ears.

Push too hard, and a coma was the least of his worries – organ failure might come first.

" _And if that billy goat – "_ Izuku twitched and faltered when a hand covered his own on Aizawa's wrist, and he looked up to see Aizawa looking at him, eyes tired but aware, body battered but no longer broken.

"That's enough, Izuku," Aizawa said uncharacteristically soft, and Izuku's smile faltered before he was swaying in place, the storm in his chest swelling up his throat, his stomach convulsing as a gout of blood escaped from between his pressed teeth and tighter lips.

"You did well," Aizawa's voice followed him down as his vision started to stop and his body swayed, a half dozen hands pressing on his back to help him steady.

The last thing Izuku saw before letting himself follow the tug of exhaustion was Iida at the head of the Pro Heroes come to help.

* * *

Waking up in a bed not his was becoming a bad habit, Izuku mused, eyes crusty and throat sore as he blinked up at the pristine, white ceiling.

"I think if you end up in here one more time, Chiyo might just give you your own personal bed," a voice mused from his side, and Izuku turned his tired head to catch a glimpse of Aizawa.

"A-Aizawa-sensei," Izuku said, his mouth as dry as a desert.

Aizawa snapped the book he'd been reading shut.

"You're reckless, brash, and bull-headed to a fault," Aizawa said drably, and Izuku blushed with blood he wasn't sure he could spare, ducking his head.

" _But,_ " Aizawa continued, "I was told you saved my life. Izuku, I don't know when you started putting other's lives ahead of yours, but it isn't a good habit to have. I know saving lives, and self-sacrifice is what an ideal Hero seems to be, but if you could hold off giving me a heart attack until I'm no longer your teacher and no longer responsible for your wellbeing, that would be great. If you could avoid it for even longer, that would be super."

Izuku stared at the ceiling, and Aizawa sighed deeply and heavily, before large, warm hands were helping Izuku sit up so gently, Izuku wanted to cry.

"I'm not good at this…caring thing," Aizawa said, sounding as if the words were bitter in his mouth. "But I've yet to have a student die on me, and there's no one I'd want to be the first less than you."

"Thank you Aizawa-sensei," Izuku whispered, voice dry.

"If you tell anyone we had this conversation, I'll stab you myself," Aizawa replied and stood up as soon as Izuku was propped against the headboard.

"Sure," Izuku replied, bewildered.

"I'm going to let Katsuki in before he blows the door down." Aizawa left on that pleasant note and Izuku was soon swarmed by his friends (and whatever Bakugou was).

There was a warmth in his heart that couldn't keep the smile from his face as Uraraka slapped gently at his chest and cried at him.

* * *

As with all new stories, I get unbridled inspiration lmao.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed!

For those who have read That Number Ten, I'll be writing this in the same format. This chapter is labelled 1 onwards because I like to think of the previous chapter as a sort of prologue to the upcoming shenanigans.

Let me know if there are any characters you want to see more of!


	3. Chapter 3

**4\. Snack Fairy**

Iida eased open the classroom door and peered inside. The room was empty, quiet except for the tick of the clock above Aizawa's desk at the front of the room.

It wasn't unexpected. Iida was nearly always the first to class, with his representative duties, he liked to sit in the silence of the room, listen to the tick-tock of the clock pass the seconds by, and scribble into his books and papers.

Nowadays, he had a new duty, besides keeping track of his classmates.

Crossing the room in quick strides, Iida swung his bag around to rummage in the front pocket, just so he could pull out a small bag of mixed fruits and nuts and tuck it surreptitiously into Izuku's desk. Then he quickly trotted to his own table and started on his work.

As the minutes slipped by, more and more people stepped into the classroom, the room as a whole got louder and louder, and like clockwork, Bakugou stepped through the door with ten minutes left before homeroom, Izuku just seconds behind.

Putting his pen down, and ignoring Uraraka's knowing look - she'd spotted him just three days before, hiding food for Izuku - Iida twisted in his seat to watch Izuku chuck his bag under his desk, sit down, and immediately discover the snacks.

And, like every morning for the past several weeks, Iida watched closely, with a strange fondness in his heart, as Izuku's face lit up at the prospect of food for his worn out body, and proceeded to spend his free time making his way carefully and meticulously through the bag.

He always ate the nuts first and then the fruit, one colour after the other, and Iida thought it was strangely endearing.

(The next morning he gave Izuku banana chips. Izuku was _ecstatic_ , even as Bakugou reached over and stole several.

Iida mused over the prospect of kicking Bakugou, but decided that Izuku's delight had been worth it anyway. Besides, acting in such a vulgar way would have been improper and inexcusable.)

* * *

 **5\. Emergency Services**

"No Izuku today, Bakugou?" Aizawa asked and Bakugou sneered with a snapped out, "I'm not his fucking caretaker." And then angrily threw himself into his chair, the desk rattling.

Aizawa sighed at the language, but when the clock ticked over to the start of the school day he started the lesson.

Not twenty minutes into the lesson and the door bounced open gently and everyone looked as Izuku stepped into the classroom. Aizawa's reprimand died on his lips.

Izuku was trembling, covered in dirt, grease and blood, his skin pale under all the grime.

"S-Sorry I'm late, Ai-Aizawa-sensei," Izuku stammered, eyes wild and his hands twisting nervously in front of him. "There – There was an accident, the police gave – gave me temporary permissions and…there was an accident." His voice petered off lamely.

Aizawa pursed his lips and watched Izuku, who's intense stare was now aimed at the ground. He was shaking more violently than a leaf caught in the wind.

"Go and get cleaned up. You've missed twenty minutes of this lesson, I'm sure with your grades you can afford to lose twenty more," Aizawa's voice was gruff as he waved Izuku out, but with a soft undertone to it that nearly reeked of worry.

"Y-Yeah," Izuku agreed and stumbled out of the room, nearly everyone watching him go.

Not even thirty seconds later, Todoroki was standing, and he firmly declared, "I'm going to the toilet." Without waiting permission, which Aizawa didn't seem he was going to withhold anyway, he was out of the door on quick, surefooted steps.

Halfway down the hallway was Izuku, just stood in the middle of the corridor as if lost and unsure where to go, staring at the dried blood on his hands.

"Midoriya?" Todoroki asked, approaching him slowly and cautiously, like he was a wild animal in danger of being spooked.

"There was an accident," Izuku stuttered. "A collision. I…There…"

Todoroki stayed silent, didn't prompt him, but didn't tell him to stop.

"There was a little girl…young. She – She didn't make it." Izuku's shaking started to intensify, as if he were trying to keep something from getting out. "Her mother she just…she started screaming at me, asked me why I didn't save her, why she had to die, why the man in the other car had to live and her daughter had to die, that – that it was my fault…my fault that she died."

A sob escaped him then, a broken little noise that had Todoroki stepping forward, hands raised to help but in a way he didn't understand. Izuku met him halfway, head hitting his shoulder with force as his arms lifted around Todoroki, holding on with a desperation.

Todoroki's arms closed slowly around him, one hand gently patting the back of his head. He had no words to say, just kept his mouth twisted shut to begin with, feeling the wet of tears against his shirt. Izuku smelled of oil and smoke, and while it drew up unpleasant memories and feelings, Todoroki did not let go.

"You…you didn't cause the accident. You didn't hurt that young girl. It was not your fault, Midoriya."

"Todoroki-kun," Izuku hiccupped pathetically, and when his knees buckled, Todoroki followed him down, keeping him clasped close and tight.

That was how Toshinori found them less than ten minutes later. He'd gone to take the corner, all skinny and feeble. He approached the pair as All Might, Todoroki looking up in alarm.

"Is everything okay, young Todoroki?" Yoshinori asked, exuberant but quiet at noticing Izuku sleep slack face cradled into Todoroki's throat.

Todoroki shifted his weight, where he'd shifted the two of them so his back was against the wall and Izuku was tucked small and tight into his lap, normally bright and happy, now subdued and quiet, looking tinier than normal when compared to Todoroki.

"Midoriya felt emotional and…tired after attending to an accident before school this morning," Todoroki offered in a soft voice.

"Let me take him from you, and you trot on back to class," All Might suggested, and noted the reluctance in which Todoroki moved his supportive hand from Izuku's back to let the Hero turned teacher scoop Izuku's limp body into his arms with delicate care, Izuku's body gently shuddering as if crying still in his sleep.

"Don't you worry my boy, I'll make sure Izuku is well looked after."

"I know," Todoroki said slowly as he stood. "Just…"

"Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Don't…don't let him blame himself. A woman…she said it was his fault her daughter died. Please don't let him believe that."

All Might felt his arms curl a little more protectively around Izuku at Todoroki's terse explanation and replied, voice full of conviction, "Don't you worry, Shouto. I'll be sure to personally let Izuku know he was not at fault."

Todoroki startled at the use of his first name, but offered a quick, thankful smile to All Might before turning on his heel and striding back down the hallway towards his classroom.

* * *

When Izuku woke up, his face and hands felt freshly scrubbed, even though his clothes still felt a little stiff. He was curled up on a soft, downy sofa, an equally soft pillow under his head, and an uneven weight draped over his body.

"How are you feeling?" Toshinori's voice broke into his confusion, and Izuku slowly lifted his head from its perch to find himself on the couch in the empty staff lounge. On the other end of the sofa, Izuku's socked feet pressed gently to his bony leg, was Toshinori, the skinny man seemingly engrossed in paperwork.

"All Might – " Izuku began, throat swelling with emotion.

"Before you say anything, you need to know that whatever happened this morning was outside of your control, Izuku," Toshinori looked up and reached over to pat Izuku's knee. "Whatever may or may not have happened to anyone this morning was not your fault, and you shouldn't think that it is."

"But…if I'd tried harder, or…or – "

"Or what?" Toshinori asked gently. "Gotten there sooner? How would you have known there was a crash? Tried harder? You can't help others who suffer if you drive yourself to suffer. You did your best. I need you to understand that."

Izuku ground the heels of his palms against his eyes as they started to burn with tears, already feeling dry and wrung out. Eventually, he sat up, and the jacket that Toshinori had tucked around him puddled in his lap.

Toshinori was startled, but almost pleasantly so, as Izuku crawled across the sofa to tightly hug him around the neck.

"Next time," Izuku whispered. "Next time I'll save them all."

"I'm sure you will, my boy," Toshinori told his hair, and patted him gently on the back, willing to give Izuku the comfort for as long as he needed it.

Quietly, so quiet he was sure he wasn't supposed to hear it, Izuku murmured, "You're better at telling me off and making me feel better at the same time than Aizawa-sensei."

Toshinori was definitely lording this over Aizawa in the future. He was already Izuku's favourite. Now he had extra ammo.

When Izuku asked if he had to go back to the classroom, Toshinori decided to let him stay and watched with a fondness as Izuku curled himself back into the softness of the sofa, pulling the jacket tightly back around himself as he did so. Not a minute later, he was shyly tucking his feet against Toshinori's leg again, and Toshinori's heart was warmed by the action.

* * *

Another chapter slips on by!

Please excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes! Hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4

**6\. Check Up**

"Okay, breathe in for me," Chiyo murmured, the stethoscope pressed to the bare skin of Izuku's back. "Hold it…Okay, let it go. Now breathe normally."

Izuku waited patiently as Chiyo listened to his heart and chest, holding his arm out obediently when she picked up the blood pressure cuff.

Eventually, when the scratch of pen on paper went quiet, he looked up from his lap. Toshinori, perched almost nervously on the chair next to the bed where Izuku was being tested, sat up a little straighter.

"Your heart sounds good and strong. Chest is clear, blood pressure is perfect for your age."

Izuku smiled ready to stand. Chiyo's hand fell to his shoulder.

"But you've lost four pounds in eight days. That's nearly two kilograms. You need to make sure you're eating properly Midoriya, if you're going to pursue your singing."

"I have been eating," Izuku muttered back, almost petulantly, and refused to make eye contact.

"Have you been reaching your target? How many calories are you averaging in a day?"

Izuku chewed the inside of his cheek and went quiet.

Chiyo pursed her lips angrily and then said, "The diet change wasn't a debate, Midoriya, its to keep you healthy. As for now, those pounds you've shaved off are from fat reserves, but if you keep going this way your muscles are going to atrophy and it'll be hard to build it back up."

"I know," Izuku replied, reaching one hand across to clasp at his opposite arm.

"Then why aren't you keeping up with your calorie intake?"

Izuku stayed quiet and then murmured something so quiet Chiyo didn't catch it. It made her irrationally angry.

"Midoriya! This is not a joke, you either keep up or – "

"It's expensive!" Izuku blurted out, louder. "For my mum. She can't…I can't ask her to make a big breakfast and a big dinner every day without taking food from _her_ mouth I…" he gripped his arm tighter, the skin under his fingers turning white. "It's just me and her. We…it's expensive."

Chiyo deflated, the anger leaving her in one big heave of breath, and she glanced to Toshinori, who was grimacing.

"I'll just…I can just stop singing and humming, its fine. It'll be fine."

"Why didn't you move into the dorms when you were accepted into Yuuei? While they have kitchens, you're always welcome to the cafeteria for all three meals of the day."

"The cost of staying for the school period is more than mum makes in a year," Izuku said quietly and Chiyo nearly hit herself for so quickly forgetting the issue was money.

"Well, that's an easy fix," Toshinori suddenly said. "It's a petition for student safety, and Nedzu always accepts those. We could have you moved in and set up with the weekly student allowance by the weekend."

"Of course!" Chiyo said exuberantly. "I'll write up the petition straight away. It's perfect."

Izuku felt his eyes burn with tears. "I…I can't…"

"You can, and will. I'm not going to have you burn out, or starve yourself to death while eating three meals a day." Chiyo patted his shoulder. "Put your shirt back on and go back to class. We'll have this all sorted out for you in no time."

Izuku let the burn win. Toshinori was more than happy to supply the supportive back pats, tissues, and comforting murmurs as Izuku hiccuped and whispered his thanks over and over.

* * *

 **7\. Moving On Up (In)**

"Thank you so much for helping me move in!" Izuku said happily, setting down his stack of boxes just inside the door of his new dorm room. It was his All Might paraphernalia, so while he was thankful for Iida and Uraraka helping him move in, he wasn't letting them carry the important stuff.

Uraraka wheeled the suitcase to sit next to the boxes as Iida set his own stack down on the other side of the door.

"It's a nice room. Strange that they would give you a double when there are plenty of singles still left," Iida commented, glancing first at one bed, and then the other across the spacious room, lit up by the large window set into the far wall.

"Oh, Chiyo – Recovery Girl, sorry – said that someone would eventually be moving in with me just to make sure, uh…"

"To babysit you!" Uraraka chirped, sitting on the suitcase.

Izuku blushed and looked down, sheepishly.

"Yeah. To make sure I don't overexert. I think if I do well for the rest of the term, they might let me get my own room for the next one!"

Iida nodded in understanding, and Izuku's blush darkened at his friend's casual acceptance and agreement. Before Iida could offer to help unpack, there was an interruption.

" _OI!"_ was barked angrily from the doorway, Bakugou slamming his fist into the doorframe, his eyes alight with an almost unholy rage. "What is this bullshit, Deku?!"

"It's my room, Kacchan!" Izuku said cheerfully, and flinched when Bakugou stormed up towards his face, a hand fisting in his shirt collar and tugging hard enough to expose collarbone and nearly force Izuku to tiptoes.

"Who the fuck am I going to take the train with in the morning? Why have you moved into this shithole?"

Izuku's smile soured and he hesitated for a brief moment. He hadn't told any of his friends why exactly he'd moved into the dorm, just offering vague statements and faint smiles.

"I lost weight," he finally said, and Bakugou squinted down suspiciously at him. Before he could angrily voice his thoughts on that, Izuku continued.

"Um, I wasn't…managing to eat enough at home, so they moved me into the dorm so I don't…Recovery Girl said I could have starved to death in about three months if I carried on the way I was."

Bakugou's grip slackened slightly on Izuku's collar, and he looked closer, biting his tongue in anger, not at Izuku but at the situation even as Uraraka gasped to the side at the explanation. As he took in Izuku, miserably staring at the floor, he could see the slight bags under his eyes, the somewhat sunken cheeks, his prominent collarbone – that was as far as Bakugou got before he was letting go and backing off because he was _not_ going to get called out for checking Izuku out.

"Why is it a double?" he asked gruffly as Izuku organised his shirt. It had once fit perfectly, and now hung from his frame just a touch and Bakugou felt his mouth twitch into what was probably a worried expression but looked more like a sneer.

"Just so a roommate can keep an eye on me. Prompt me to get breakfast and stuff." Izuku shrugged. "I don't know? I think All Might and Recovery Girl are just paranoid."

"I'm getting this room, fuckface," Bakugou said firmly jabbing his finger at the floor in an aggressive point. "I want that bed." He then pointed towards the bed slightly closer to the en-suite bathroom. "And god help you if you snore because I will fucking _destroy you_."

Izuku smiled, slightly bewildered but perhaps slightly excited.

"Sure! We can be roommates, it'll be fun! And we can still walk to class together!"

Bakugou grunted and stomped out, leaving Iida to fuss over Izuku and for Uraraka to nervously flutter her hands over his arms and face to see if she could feel where the lost weight should have been.

* * *

It was mentioned briefly across the school and whispered between classes, the epic showdown between Bakugou and Todoroki for the right to be Izuku's roommate for the remainder of the term, and possibly the school year.

Izuku's roommate ended up being Koda (mostly because he didn't commit destruction of school property) and Izuku was _delighted_ at the number of animal friends that came with him. Izuku and Koda, obviously, became best friends. (Izuku had a lot of those).

Bakugou was passive-aggressive, rather, aggressive-aggressive enough that he moved into the dorms anyway. It was unspoken that he only moved in just so he could still enjoy his morning walks with Izuku.

If Todoroki happened to be there occasionally, Bakugou only exploded five or six times. He couldn't say much, considering he'd _moved_ in order to be with Izuku. Todoroki had gotten a black eye for that comment.

And you can be damned sure that all five of them, Koda, Bakugou, Todoroki, Iida and Uraraka made sure Izuku piled his plate high at breakfast in the cafeteria. Iida was more than happy to calorie count, just to be sure.

* * *

Here's chapter four! Hope you enjoyed it!

Now, for those of you reading this note, I need some opinions! For those of you have read That Number Ten (and for those who haven't I suppose) would you like every five chapters, like that fic, to be **Alternate Universe/Setting Stories?**

And the next question, rather, request perhaps? If you have any songs you'd like to hear Izuku passive-aggressively sing at people, please let me know them!

See you next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Alternate Universe 1, Different Career Choice 1: On A Dare**

"Back again Bakugou?" The receptionist barely looked up as the door slammed open, ignoring the barrage of curses sent her way. "Perhaps you should have chosen a different career if you were going to be so reckless as a Pro-Hero. At this rate you'll be dead before your twenty fifth birthday. Next month, is it?"

Bakugou sneered at her and limped his way to a chair to perch on the edge, his arm crossed across his middle. The receptionist, whose name escaped Bakugou, reached over to her phone, pushed a button and murmured, "Can we get someone to clean the blood from the floor? Bakugou is here."

Just then the Recovery Quirk door opened and Bakugou's usual doctor scurried out. He made to stand but the doctor threw a hand out, trying to struggle into his jacket with a hurried call of, "Sorry, there's been an emergency call out, one of our clinic partners will be here to see you soon though!"

"Clinic partner?" Bakugou asked himself and settled back into the chair, feeling like his guts were trying to squeeze out from between his clenched fingers. The blood was uncomfortably warm where it settled into the creases of his uniform and pooled up in the palm of his hand.

The door eased open again and a nurse popped her head out, greeting him with a wide smile.

"Bakugou? The doctor is ready to see you now."

She held the door open wider and he limped his way into the room, taking a seat on the bed when the nurse patted it invitingly.

"Looks like a bad one today! Nasty villain?"

"Could turn his hands into knives," Bakugou grunted. "Like some sort of video game freak. Thanks." He accepted the painkillers she offered him in a small plastic cup, letting them sit on his tongue as she bustled over to give him a glass of water to swallow them down with.

The door that led further into the clinic eased open and the nurse smiled suddenly brighter, eyes darting immediately over.

Bakugou narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the whispers from beyond the door, but then it was opening wider and the doctor was walking in and…

Bakugou was pretty sure he didn't have enough blood left in his body for what his godforsaken dick was trying to do.

Izuku shuffled nervously in the doorway, hands clenched on a file that was crinkling in his hands, eyes staring at the pages and his face bright red. He was embarrassed, and rightfully so as, somehow, he'd been coerced into a short-skirted nurses uniform, the like of which from Halloween, the edges clinging to his thighs.

"Good – good morning," Izuku stuttered out. "I'm the attending physician today, please tell me how – how I can help."

" _Deku?"_ Bakugou croaked. He had tried to go for angry, or incredulous or...

Izuku's head shot up and his embarrassment was washed away under what was first an expression of worry and then professionalism as he strode across the room, dropping the rumpled file on the desk.

It was far too attractive and his legs were far too long in a skirt. And too smooth. What did he do, wax them? Bakugou's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings and he didn't know what to do.

"What happened Kacchan? What has he taken so far?" Izuku briefly addressed the nurse who answered him in a quiet murmur.

"Villain," Bakugou managed. "Knife hands."

"He made knives with his skin?" Izuku confirmed, and then he was picking the file back up and flipping through it with ease of practice, rattling off a list of something Bakugou couldn't understand to the nurse, who nodded and left the room.

"I'm going to examine the wound, you need to let me know if you're uncomfortable, okay? Does the top half off your uniform come part from the bottom?"

Bakugou just nodded numbly and let Izuku help him undress. Soon enough he was shirtless in the room with Izuku who was in a skirt. A miniskirt. And the top was cut low, not that Izuku had any cleavage, but he was showing far too much skin in a provocative way and –

"Sorry?" Bakugou asked, feeling flustered.

"How long ago did you get the wound?"

"About," Bakugou swallowed, his mouth dry, and Izuku watched the motion closely. "About twenty minutes ago, maybe half an hour. What? What are you looking at?"

"You seem a little dehydrated. We might set you up on a drip to help with that and everything else you might have lost from the bloodloss." Izuku shone a small penlight at the wound but didn't touch it, only stopping his examination when the nurse returned with a little trolley.

"Okay," Izuku said, when he had the trolley by him. "I'm going to be giving you a couple of jabs. This first one is an antibiotic. This one here is an anti-sickness, but we're not going to use it unless the antibiotics kick your butt. This one I'm going to use now – it's a local anaesthetic that I'm going to inject around the wound because I need to pick at it. The last one is a painkiller, that'll work a little quicker and harder than the tablets, you just let me know if you need it. Is that okay?"

Bakugou nodded, and when he swayed, Izuku's strong hand was firm on his elbow and the next thing Bakugou knew he was reclining on the bed and his stomach was starting to feel numb, the wound burning even hotter instead.

Bakugou carried on watching from the corner of his eye, not minding the manhandling as much as he probably should, and asked, "Why aren't you using your quirk?"

"That comes last," Izuku smiled as he palpitated Bakugou's arm and quickly and efficiently gave him the antibiotic into the vein he'd convinced to show. "I've got lots of hoops to jump through if I want to look after you properly. If I sealed you up now, and you had nasty gunk in there? That wouldn't do. Any nasty gunk already in there the antibiotic should cover. Hands are nasty and dirty, not to mention whatever that guy had under his nails."

"Right…" Bakugou muttered, feeling lethargic, and watched in silence as Izuku pulled on some gloves and unwrapped the airtight tweezers and forceps to start picking at his wound. It didn't hurt, but it felt weird.

"How have you been doing then, Kacchan?" Izuku asked cheerfully, even as he intently picked out each and every foreign contaminant he could find.

"I thought you were a Pro-Hero too?" Bakugou replied instead.

"There are many ways to help people," Izuku replied quietly. "I mean, I got a degree for this right? It doesn't hurt to have a back up. I do this on alternating days."

Bakugou did the math in his head.

"When do you get a day off?"

Izuku smiled at him and set the forceps down to the side. "Every other weekend, unless there's a hero emergency or a hospital emergency. In fact, it was last weekend that caused this." He gestured his bloodied, gloved hands down at himself, and made a move as if to adjust the skirt before he stopped himself.

"Anyway! Time to get down to business. Any song preferences or should I just wing it?" Izuku peeled his gloves off and washed his hands in the sink on the other side of the room.

"Just get on with it," Bakugou grunted, and closed his eyes as Izuku began to sing and hum his way through a song that Bakugou was sure he'd heard the previous day on the radio.

"So what the fuck happened last weekend?" Bakugou pressed when Izuku's humming started to peter out.

"Shouto and I – "

" _Shouto?"_ Kacchan barked.

"Yes, _Shouto_ , I have friends outside of you Kacchan, I'm twenty four. _Anyway,_ he goaded me into a drinking competition and I lost the dare. This was the result. When the nurse said it was a Pro-Hero here I thought it was him come to laugh at me!"

Bakugou tried to come up with some sort of angry, witty retort and instead could only turn his head and vomit onto the floor.

He was fairly certain if the half-and-half bastard were to show up, it wasn't going to be to _laugh._ On the other hand, Izuku was rubbing his back and holding back his hair, so even if he _had_ been stabbed it was worth it.

He promptly lost whatever was left of his composure five minutes later when Izuku washed his bloodied skin with a wet rag and _commented on his abs._

* * *

I know nothing about medicine.


	6. Chapter 6

**8\. Fifteen More Minutes**

For once in his life Aizawa thought he was going to have a peaceful afternoon. His students had been banished back to their parents or on site accommodation, his assignments were marked on time, and he was just locking up his classroom for the night when a hand grabbed his collar and yanked.

One choked ' _hur-gurk'_ noise later, Aizawa found himself in the staff lounge with a pacing Toshinori, who was surprisingly strong for how skinny and feeble he looked.

"What? _What_ do you want?" Aizawa asked irritably, and Toshinori looked up to him with wide, wild eyes as his pacing came to a stop and he stared.

"It's Izuku," Toshinori blurted. "He, I – I'm supposed to go shopping with him this afternoon so he can stock the dorm kitchen with his high-calorie food but I can't go. You need to go."

"No. Unless you have a valid reason as to why _I_ should go and deal with his sad face at not spending time with his most wonderful All Might, I'm going to go home, feed the cats, and do nothing for the foreseeable future."

Toshinori swallowed several times, nervously.

"I've…I've got fifteen more minutes. And I think it's because of Izuku. He – He hums and sings, he can't help it, I know but – "

"Wait," Aizawa interrupted, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me…you're saying his _singing_ has increased your working time?"

Toshinori immediately began pacing again, wringing his hands together.

"I know I can't avoid him forever but…if he knows about this – " he gestured almost crudely to himself. "If he thought his singing could _help_ then – "

"He'd work himself to death," Aizawa finished in a gust of breath.

"Exactly." Toshinori stopped and sat himself into the closest chair. "I can't – I can't go with him today knowing _that_ until I can keep my composure. He can never know."

Aizawa groaned, long and suffering, pressing his face into his hand. Eventually he mumbled, through his fingers, "I'll go. But we'll figure this out."

"Thank you," Toshinori replied thankfully. "Thank you."

* * *

"Oh?" Izuku asked, fingers wrapped around the strap of his bag. "Toshinori-san can't make it today?"

"That's right," Aizawa said through his teeth. "So today I'm you're chaperone."

"You don't have to come with!" Izuku quickly placated. "All – Toshinori-san and I only go together because he likes the company and I like the company."

Aizawa felt a muscle in his jaw twitch but replied, "I'm here now. Let's get this over with."

Izuku's bright smile was almost worth the hassle. Fighting an old lady for the last of the protein rich snacks that Izuku _absolutely_ _had to have_ was not.

(It didn't take long for fifteen minutes to become thirty, but Toshinori and Aizawa kept the secret of Izuku's singing close to their chests.)

* * *

 **9\. Nap Time**

"What the hell are you doing?" Ojiro asked, and Bakugou immediately whipped around, jacket folded in his hands to hiss, " _Be quiet!"_ at him.

Ojiro peered around where Bakugou had been bent over Izuku's desk and saw what the problem was.

In the quiet of the study session, Izuku had fallen asleep, an elbow on the desk and his chin and cheek pressed into his palm.

"Oh damn that's cute."

"Are you going to help me or not?" Bakugou snapped back, and bit his tongue as Izuku snuffled and shifted slightly, his elbow far too close to the edge of the table.

"Of course I'm going to help in this endeavour of cuteness."

(Somewhere across the room, Todoroki twitched at the 'E' word.)

Ojiro reached across to gently hold one hand supportively under Izuku's head, his other hand carefully tugging the propped arm away to rest straight on the desk. Bakugou settled his makeshift jacket-pillow on the table and fluffed it into perfection.

Ojiro almost didn't have it in himself to let Izuku down because he was nuzzling his cheek into his hand to try and get comfortable, but with one sharp look from Bakugou, Izuku's head was soon on the jacket.

The class collectively held their breath as Izuku snuffled and sniffled, but he buried his head into the jacket and his breathing once again evened out into deep inhales and slow exhales.

Of course, to prove his manliness, Bakugou chose to wake Izuku at the end of the study period by ripping the jacket out from under his head.

* * *

 **10\. Actual Disney Princess**

"Guys. _Guys_ stop fighting!" Uraraka smacked Iida's shoulder first and then Bakugou's, and when both were facing her she asked, "Where's Izuku-kun?"

Bakugou's scathing remark was gone as quick as it reached his tongue and he whipped around in a near comical fashion, trying to see if he could spot Izuku across the expanse of the campus they were crossing.

Iida nervously adjusted his glasses as he murmured, "He was with us when we left he dormitories."

"Of course he was dumbass!" Bakugou muttered. "We were there, and now he's not _here._ "

"If we split up we have a greater chance of finding him," Iida finally said. "Class is not yet for another thirty minutes, if we meet back here in twenty whether or not we find him."

"Yeah, sure," Uraraka nodded quickly, bouncing on her heels before she shot off back the way they came from.

* * *

Of the three of them, Iida was the first to find Izuku. He was not the first one there, however.

Yaoyorozu looked up from the textbook on her lap, her back leaning against the tree as she read. Sat next to her, and leaning lethargically on her shoulder was Izuku, who blinked almost endearingly at the new arrival.

Tucked on Izuku's lap was perhaps the smallest bird Iida had ever seen. The tiny creature was preening and tugging at crooked feathers on its left wing to straighten them out. It had gone still at seeing Iida, but Izuku gentle dragged the tip of his finger from its head to its tail and it was back to preening.

"It is _exactly_ what you think it is," Yaoyorozu offered. "Except, I got here when he was scaring off a cat and there were four birds, not just one."

"It's interesting to know it works on animals," was the first thing Iida managed, blurting it out. Izuku beamed up at him and murmured, "I was thankful too. This one just isn't ready to leave yet."

"How did you know they were here?" Iida wasn't afraid to admit he was bewildered as to how Izuku had strayed far enough from the group to find a group of birds in distress.

"There was one on the side of the path, we walked by him." Izuku's smile was sad. "He was kinda mangled. But there was some blood and feathers that led me here, so here I am. It made me a little tired, and Yaoyorozu-san saw me in passing so she offered to stay with me."

Izuku's head swayed a little and he let it settle back onto his companion's shoulder, Yaoyorozu shifting almost imperceptibly to better accommodate him so he wasn't uncomfortable. When Izuku yawned softly, his eyes going a little distant, Iida found himself swinging his bag around to dig into it.

"Here, Izuku," he said almost gruffly, clearing his throat as he held forward a small plastic bag. "It's dried coconut. It has high nutritional value and many healthy fats that will help you maintain your weight."

Iida then settled himself against the tree on the other side of Izuku, feeling his face warm slightly as Izuku leaned a little into him, but seemingly unwilling to try and lift his head.

"Thank you so much, Iida-kun," Izuku murmured thankfully, and opened the packet carefully, trying not to startle the bird on his lap with the crinkling of plastic.

"Oh," Yaoyorozu suddenly said, mirth in her voice and eyes as she glanced between the packet, and then at Iida over Izuku's head. "I see now. Very clever of you."

Iida's face burned warmer, but didn't grace Yaoyorozu with an answer. However, instead of hiding snacks in Izuku's desk – hard to do, when they entered the class together – he gave them to Izuku first thing in the morning to nibble on at his pleasure.

Nearly an hour later, when class had since started, Aizawa sent out Tokoyami to find them, if anything just to stop Uraraka's fretting and Bakugou's increasing volume, and he found the three of them tucked together in sleep.

The bird had moved to nest in Izuku's hair.

You're damn right Tokoyami took many pictures, both of the scene, and of Iida's horrified face at realising he was precisely thirty-six minutes of class.

He made a pretty good profit on the first set, too, because of course he was going to sell them.

* * *

I've gotta say, **LiterallyMetaphoric,** your review for Chapter 5 has got to be my most favourite thing ever. Just the simplicity of 'yes? Yes' made my day I'm not going to lie. Thank you so much.

And of course, thank you so much to everyone else who reviewed as well!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Not much in the way of managing to fit in actual song lyrics but I'm going to get there eventually – I have most, if not all your song recommendations written down and ready to go, just as soon as I find a place for them.

Thank you to all of you once again, I'll see you in the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**11\. Attendance Record**

"Congratulations," Aizawa said into the silence following the loud thump of his books and bag hitting the desk at the front of the classroom. "Class 1-A has won best attendance for the term, as it doesn't seem like even a single one of you knows how to be sick and have graced me with your faces every day up until this point. If there was a prize for healthiest class, you'd win that too."

Breaking the following silence was the crinkle of foil, and Izuku blushed as all eyes turned to him where he was peeling open a protein bar. Aizawa sighed, but didn't reprimand him, instead saying, "I suppose we have you to thank for that Izuku."

"Yes?" Izuku replied, slightly muffled as he'd already taken a hefty mouthful, not expecting to be addressed.

"Thanks to you, no one's been sick this term!" Uraraka said cheerfully as she turned to face him, before twisting back around. "Aizawa-sensei, doesn't best attendance get a reward?"

"That's right," Aizawa grunted. "And you have to put it to a vote. It's either a day at that theme park that opened last year or a fully funded party of your choice of theme on campus. Don't bother choosing now, you have until the end of next week to choose because it'll be happening during your holiday week."

"It's definitely got to be the theme park," Kaminari said loudly, as if he hadn't just heard what Aizawa had said. "I mean, who wants a boring party in this place?"

"If anyone listens in this place it'll be a goddamn miracle," Aizawa muttered.

"Wait a minute," Kirishima's voice boomed. "We're not getting sick because of Midoriya? I mean, yeah that's cool, but what if I want that sick day so I can sleep longer? No one's going to believe I'm sick!"

"Why…" Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why would you say that out loud? Why…?"

"You know what," Ashido said loudly. "I want to say thank you, Midoriya-kun." She'd stood to stand in front of his desk, smiling down at him. "I normally get some awful flu or cold this time of the year and it makes my pores all clogged with my Quirk if I don't keep on top of it, so thank you for helping keep us all healthy!"

Izuku quickly swallowed his mouthful, making sure to tap any crumbs away from his lips with his fingertips.

"That's alright, Ashido-san! You don't have to thank me though, I would have done it anyway and not by accident if I'd have known! If you ever do feel sick, definitely let me know, if I can help you so you aren't uncomfortable that would be great!"

"Oh, Midoriya-kun," Ashido gushed. "You're so _sweet._ " She leaned over the desk to give him a thankful hug and, next to them, a previously quiet Bakugou, accidentally blew up his desk.

* * *

 **12\. Sick As A Dog**

"Hey, where's Izuku today?" Uraraka asked Koda as their silent classmate exited the dorm room. Bakugou was leaning against a nearby wall, drumming his fingers impatiently on his crossed arms.

Koda smiled ruefully, and signed something. Uraraka's brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry, Koda. I don't know sign language."

"I do," Iida answered, pushing his glasses up. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

Koda angled himself towards Iida and signed the same.

"Oh." Iida frowned. "Well, does he have everything he needs in there?"

Koda nodded quickly and empathetically, smiling timidly.

"Right then. We should come back this afternoon after classes," he addressed his companions. "Izuku appears to be unwell. Not surprising, considering the season and the fact his own ability does not affect his wellbeing."

" _You what?"_ Bakugou turned on the door, but Iida stood in front of it steadfastly.

"Izuku is _unwell._ It won't do us any good to see him, and we can't afford to be absent from school ourselves. We can visit him this afternoon, it's better for all involved and he can get some rest. I believe Koda when he says Izuku is well cared for during the day."

Iida quickly adjusted his glasses and his eyes glittered ominously.

" _If I have to remove you from this corridor with force, I will."_

"Fuck! Fine!" Bakugou snarled and stormed away, Iida letting out the breath he'd been holding.

* * *

"So, I understand Todoroki-kun being here, but Tokoyami-kun?" Uraraka tilted her head in confusion, a crowd of them cramping up the space outside of the dorm room as Koda fumbled nervously with the keys.

Tokoyami held up a flask and simply said, "Chicken broth. Brought some from home when I heard he was sick."

"Isn't that like, cannibalism?" Bakugou muttered callously, and swore angrily, hands whipping around as Tokoyami then smacked him across the head with the flask.

"Oh, no, no, no, this isn't a good place to fight guys!" Uraraka tried to get herself between the two of them to stop the brawl that wanted to break out. "Izuku is trying to rest!"

Bakugou abruptly let go of Tokoyami's shirt, the other having already lifted his flask again in warning, twisting to face the already opened door and then shouldering his way into the room.

Bundled into his bed under a layer of what had to be a dozen blankets, Izuku was tucked up against the headboard, accepting the glass of water and tablets that Todoroki was offering him.

"Oh," Izuku's voice warbled. "To…Todo- " he sneezed and trembled. "Your hands are cold. It's nice."

Koda was fussing over the mess of tissues and used ice patches that Izuku had already made his way through, ignoring the nasal and weak protests of Izuku saying he'd clean up after himself.

"Yeah?" Todoroki asked, uncharacteristically soft, and set the glass down when Izuku was done drinking, instead moving to press his palm to Izuku's forehead, his other hand helping Izuku settle back down against the pillows in a reclined position. Todoroki perched on the edge of the bed.

"Oh…" Izuku sighed again, stuffy eyes closing as he leaned into the cold. "I know I need the blankets, but it's..."

He sniffled again, and Todoroki was alarmed when Izuku's eyes started watering all of a sudden.

"Midoriya? Is everything okay?"

Izuku hiccupped, sniffing again as if he couldn't clear his nose.

"I miss my mum. I miss home." He lifted his hand as if to scrape his wrist against his leaky nose, but Bakugou was already there, shoving a tissue in the way before Izuku got mucus everywhere.

"Fucking idiot, she's only ten minutes by train, not even that. Idiot."

"K-Kacchan," Izuku blinked blearily up at him, scrubbing at his eyes with his hand instead. "At least you're still here."

Bakugou looked fit to combust, his face steadily darkening in a blush.

"I thought…dreamt…" Izuku trailed off tiredly. "That everyone was gone. That I couldn't save them. That…they're worse now, now I can help, but I can't, it's not good enough."

"You fucking _dumbass."_ Bakugou managed to get out in a strangled voice, and then he was dumping his bag and jacket on the floor, tearing his shoes off. "Move over, move your fucking ass."

Izuku shuffled closer towards Todoroki obediently, who let his hand settle down on Izuku's sweat slick neck, and Bakugou squeezed himself into the space on the bed between Izuku's burning back and the wall, resolutely ignoring the accusing stares of everyone in the room.

"They're just the stupid fever dreams you stupid piece of shit. Every fucking time, Deku."

Izuku trembled and a sob, a soft keening noise managed to escape from between his pressed lips, and Todoroki brushed Izuku's fringe from his eyes.

"Oh, Izuku," Uraraka sighed sadly, sitting at the foot of the bed and finding Izuku's ankle under the mountain of blankets.

"If I can't save everyone then…"

"You're no less for it," Tokoyami suddenly said introspectively, setting his flask onto the bedside locker. "Because to get to that point, you have already done your best. You don't deserve any less respect. If you feel hungry, I brought soup."

Izuku sniffled again, face still pressed firmly into Todoroki's palm, Bakugou curled almost protectively around him, and mumbled, "I – I think I'd like that."

* * *

"Sorry I'm late!" Iida called out breathlessly as he shouldered his way into the dorm, bags of medicine and good recovery food hanging off his arms. "I – "

"Sshh!" Uraraka shushed him gently, and Iida nearly dropped one of the bags onto his foot.

"W – What?"

Izuku was sleeping, a little fitfully almost, face and fingers twitching restlessly. He couldn't go far, boxed in with his face smushed into Todoroki's cold shoulder, face turned towards his neck, Bakugou wrapped around him from the other side

Todoroki was awake, head lifting in alarm away from his textbook at Iida's loud voice. Bakugou was not, his mouth parted slightly, his nose in Izuku's hair as he loudly and deeply breathed in his sleep.

"Izuku's fever broke," Uraraka said with a quiet smile. "So Todoroki is helping keep him cool."

"And…Bakugou?"

"He's there to scare off the bad dreams."

And Uraraka smiled as if it made all the sense of the world. Iida supposed it sort of did – if anyone could scare off a bad dream, it was certainly Bakugou.

Very, very carefully, he stacked the isotonic and vitamin recovery drinks into the mini-fridge tucked into the corner of the room, Koda helping him in silent comradery.

* * *

Tada!

I'll get to other stories again, I promise. lmao.


	8. Chapter 8

**13\. Conservation of Energy**

Todoroki winced as he lowered himself into his desk, his bag dropping with a muffled noise beside him. Everything ached, and from the glances that people had given him during his walk to the classroom, he was sure he was still sporting a split lip.

He'd barely settled into his seat and then Izuku was upon him, beelining towards him across the room like a man on a mission, a dog on the scent. Todoroki felt like there was a target painted on his forehead.

"Todoroki-kun!" Izuku said, almost sad at seeing a friend in pain. "Are you okay?"

Todoroki grunted, and felt something in his lip stretch. Definitely still split.

Izuku's mouth pulled down into an expression that made Todoroki want to shower him in puppies and sweet things, and he felt unexplainably guilty for not giving an explanation.

"Uh," Todoroki cleared his throat quickly. "Training over the weekend with Endeavour got a little intense. I'm fine." Fine was subjective, but Izuku didn't need to know that.

Izuku's sad expression became sadder, and immediately Todoroki was kicking himself for being the cause.

"Don't worry, I'll help!" Izuku said firmly, and stole the chair from an adjoining desk to sit next to Todoroki, their knees briefly knocking.

Todoroki took a closer look at Izuku, whose cheeks were slightly pale and his eyes adorned with bags.

"No, it's fine."

"I insist!" Izuku replied cheerfully, and cleared his throat a few times.

Without even thinking, Todoroki's shot his hand forward to cover Izuku's mouth as it opened. Both of them froze, Izuku's eyes wide, and Todoroki with most of his hand over Izuku's mouth.

His ring finger was in Izuku's mouth, second joint deep.

Todoroki felt the blush start at his neck when Izuku's tongue involuntarily moved against his finger and then, in a snap decision, he froze Izuku's tongue to the roof of his mouth and snatched his hand away.

Izuku made a noise that sounded like an approximation of Todoroki's name, wounded eyes watching him. It was obviously the ultimate betrayal.

"You don't need to waste your energy on superficial wounds," Todoroki said, ignoring how his voice broke on the first word before he composed himself.

Izuku's eyes abruptly hardened, and Todoroki felt the shiver that the look shook down his spine, but then Izuku was walking back to his desk.

Sighing quietly, Todoroki went to rummage in his bag, but before he could straighten back up, a strong, firm arm was catching him around the middle and, with a casual ease, Izuku was carrying him, one armed, out of the classroom, like an errant piece of luggage, all without his other quirk.

It was then that Todoroki was abruptly reminded that Izuku was not in Yuuei's Hero course because he could sing the ouchies away. He was in Yuuei because he was a force of nature - and had arms that were apparently steel bands, not that Todoroki was thinking too hard about that.

In the hallway Izuku set him down and pressed his hand to his temple, other hand holding a water bottle he was sipping from to defrost his tongue.

"You," Izuku slurred, tongue still numb and stiff, hand moving from his head to point at a shell-shocked Todoroki. "Do not get to decide what I use my energy for. That's my decision if I want to help my friends."

"There's no need – "

" _You!"_ Izuku interrupted, his voice breaking. "Do _not_ get to decide how I use _my_ quirk! You're my _friend_ and you're _hurting!_ I'm fixing that even if – " Izuku fell silent, hand fisting around the water bottle and crinkling the plastic, water spilling over the lip.

Todoroki felt a pit in his stomach and finished, "Even if it kills you?"

Izuku pressed his lips together so tightly together they turned white, averting his face.

"I can help. I want to help." He lifted his hand to scrub at his eyes. "Todoroki-kun, I need this. I need to get better. I…I can't come here one day and someone I know is that girl."

Izuku pressed the heels his palms against his eyes, trying to will away the tears. He still had dreams, nightmares really, of a tiny body broken on the asphalt. Sometimes it was that girl, her mother screaming. Sometimes it was his classmates. Izuku was the one screaming in those dreams.

Todoroki reached forward without thinking, hand closing around one of Izuku's to pull away from his face. He kept that hand in his, thumb pressed gently into Izuku's palm.

"We're heroes," Todoroki said gently and softly. "It's an occupational hazard that someday we might have to face. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I just…worry about you, like you worry about us."

Deliberating, Todoroki wondered if he was clear to say what he said next, but Aizawa, who had been watching from the doorway of the classroom gave him a slight incline of the head, approval and permission, and disappeared back into the room.

"After the villain attack, when you were recovering, Aizawa-sensei and Recovery Girl talked to the class, because we're the ones who are closest to you. She told us everything that could happen to you if you over extended your power. How you could damage your own organs, you could lose the energy to _breathe_ and suffocate under your own selfless nature and…Midoriya, Izuku, I don't want to be the one to cause that."

Izuku sniffled but lifted his head almost proudly.

"I've been lectured at far more than you, Todoroki-kun. I know my limits. I've been eating," he added, as if that made it any better. "Helping you isn't going to break the bank. I'm not going to hurt myself for helping a few aches and pains."

Todoroki looked down, at Izuku's hand faintly trembling in his, at bony, faintly scarred knuckles, and softer, unmarked skin.

"I trust you," he finally said. "To know when to stop."

Izuku smiled brightly up at him, hand grasping back at his before he began to sing quietly, softly.

" _Let it go. Let it roll right of your shoulder, don't you know…the hardest part is over, let it in…"_

Todoroki closed his eyes, let the comfort wash over his skin, aches fading, lip no longer burning. Even when he felt better, Izuku's gentle voice continued.

" _All of my regret, will wash away somehow, but I cannot forget, the way I feel right now."_

And while Todoroki didn't know if the song was meant for him, or for Izuku, but it warmed him all the same, in a way that his father's inherited quirk never would.

Bakugou broke the moment wonderfully by bodyslamming Todoroki out of the way and shoving him into the classroom with a roar of, "Gay moment is over, shitheads!"

("Don't worry about Kacchan," Izuku whispered to Todoroki later. "He's only pissed because I save the nice songs for other people. He gets all the Disney references.")

* * *

 **14\. Bird Whisperer**

"Hey now, it's okay."

Tokoyami blearily opened his eyes to Izuku's soft voice. There was something making a guttural noise next to him, visceral and snarling.

"That's right," Izuku's calming voice continued. "You feel better now?"

Izuku was talking to Dark Shadow like one would talk to a frightened animal, dodging wild swipes and a snapping maw. He was already sporting a bleeding arm.

Tokoyami felt wrung out, confused, tired and bleary.

"See? Tokoyami's awake as well now, everything's going to be okay."

Dark Shadow quivered, and Tokoyami felt his fragile control close back around his quirk.

"It was all an accident. Can I sit by him? I can help, you remember me right? I've helped before…"

Tokoyami felt disconnected and vaguely remembered getting hit in the head with something fast and hard during training. Swinging his head around like a dead weight, he saw his classmates gathered, pale faced and worried, with Izuku obviously at the forefront.

All-Might, the perpetrator of the training session, was standing ready at the side, arms crossed and foot tapping almost nervously.

Izuku crept closer again, and then he was sat next to Tokoyami, Dark Shadow writhing around the two of them.

"Are you okay, Tokoyami-kun?" Izuku asked in a light, cheery voice. His eyes didn't leave Dark Shadow.

"Head…?" Tokoyami managed to get out. His mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton wool.

"You're not bleeding, but you've a lump the size of a goose egg. Do you feel like you can bring Dark Shadow back in?"

Tokoyami tried. He really did, but it felt like there was a blanket over their connection and he couldn't reach it while his head throbbed.

"No? It's okay. I couldn't sing and fight at the same time so I had to calm him down before coming over." Izuku turned his eyes away from Dark Shadow to reach out and gently touch Tokoyami's head. Tokoyami gave a belated flinch at the wash of pain.

Dark Shadow twitched and dithered.

"Tokoyami, I'm about to sing the fastest song ever at you. You need to take control of Dark Shadow as soon as you feel capable." Izuku slipped his hand into Tokoyami's. "Squeeze if you understand."

Tokoyami applied pressure, but it seemed enough because Izuku beamed at him.

The 'fastest song ever' turned out to be Izuku rapping at him while staring intensely at Dark Shadow, literally the fastest thing he could sing with it still being a song, without even a stutter up until the point Tokoyami felt more human and reigned in his quirk.

No one missed Kirishima howling, _"I FUCKING TOLD YOU!"_ at Ojiro, unable to help the starstruck expression on his face.

* * *

 **Brief Interlude - Sick As A Dog**

Bakugou woke with a brief stretch, blinking open his eyes to see the back of Izuku's head in front of him, glancing up, he made eye contact with Todoroki.

Both of them froze.

"This doesn't mean _anything,"_ Bakugou hissed. "I still fucking hate you. The only reason we're this close is because of Deku."

"Kacchan, play nice," Izuku's nasally voice was muffled by Todoroki's shoulder. "The only one making this weird is you. Either leave or go back to sleep. I'm tired."

* * *

So. This might, _might,_ end up being TodoDekuBaku focused. BUT! There will be other people pining and thinking Izuku is cute and stuff because the drabbles aren't always focused. It's just that the other two will probably get more actions. Lmfao. (I don't have favourites, what?)

Also, I somehow managed in the last chapter to number the two parts **11** and then **8** afterwards. Whoops. All fixed now tho.

The song he sings to Todoroki is 'Little Wonders' by Rob Thomas. It was recommended by **EmberStorm** so thank you!

As for that rap, imagine that as you will, but I like to think of that one stupidly fast part of 'Rap God' by Eminem lmao.


	9. Chapter 9

**15\. Smash!**

"I sometimes forget that Midoriya's main quirk isn't to be sunshine incarnate," Jirou admitted. Hagakure's response was drowned out by the explosion that followed Izuku's fist connecting with the ground.

"What do you mean it isn't?" Uraraka asked, chin in her palm from where she was sat. "That seems about right to me."

Izuku straightened from his crouch, chest heaving and dust settled in his hair. He was grinning, unabashedly, expression wild as he stared at his unharmed hand before he threw his fist into the air, his classmates cheering him on. The crater around him was staggering, and was just shy of reaching the rest of the group.

Jirou deliberated a reply and settled on, "Well, I guess you're right."

Izuku trotted towards the group, still smiling brightly as he started clambering up the side of the crater. Shoji offered him a hand, his extra limbs helping Izuku up and out of the hole.

"I didn't break anything," Izuku said, breathless and excited.

"Ah, except the ground," Shoji agreed, and Uraraka scrambled to her feet when Izuku was close by, wrapping him up in a tight hug.

"Izuku-kun, that was amazing!"

Izuku wrapped his arms around in her turn and lifted her from the floor, spinning erratically to Uraraka's responding giggles. When they stopped, Uraraka was sitting, perched on Izuku's forearm securely, her arm wrapped around his neck to keep herself stable. Izuku grinned up at her.

"Did you see me?"

"I did! You were so cool Izuku-kun!"

Izuku's nearly vibrated on the spot, looking like he wanted to bounce but was afraid of unsettling Uraraka's seat, going a little more still when Iida approached his dusty face with a cloth, eyes closed in silent delight.

"Sunshine," Hagakure breathed out quietly and Jirou couldn't help but silently agree.

* * *

 **16\. Movie Night**

Kaminari froze as a soft weight thumped into his shoulder, the noise of the movie playing in the communal room of the dorm fading into a quiet buzz.

Daring to glance down, he caught a head full of green hair, a slight peek of delicate lashes shut over closed eyes.

He was pretty sure he'd forgotten how to breathe, afraid to move with the cute burden of Izuku Midoriya sleeping on his shoulder.

Tsuyu, on Izuku's other side, leaned forward and asked, in a soft whisper, "Are you okay?"

Kaminari opened his mouth, and no noise came out. Izuku's deep breathing stuttered for a moment, and then continued, his hands twitching around the protein shake he had clasped in his lap.

"I didn't realise the movie was so boring," he finally croaked, trying to joke his embarrassment away.

"Kirishima and Bakugou got a little heated in training earlier and Midoriya stepped in to help. He's probably a little tired." Tsuyu blinked slowly at him, and then carefully removed Izuku's tilting shake from his hands to place reverently on the floor.

"A little tired," Kaminari squeaked, and Izuku seemed to press a little closer, cheek rubbing against his shoulder slightly to try and get more comfortable as he mumbled something incoherent.

Kaminari froze again, but was saved from further embarrassment when a loud bang erupted from the movie playing on TV and Izuku was immediately on his feet seconds after, his knee impacting the coffee table and sending it and the snacks it contained tumbling over as Izuku then flopped to his side, cradling his leg.

Somebody screamed in shock. The movie was paused and lights were quickly switched on.

"Oh my god, Midoriya, are you okay?" Kaminari stammered, dropping off the sofa to kneel next to him.

Izuku's eyes were watering with pain as he glanced up through his lashes. Before he could reply, Bakugou was shoving Kaminari away with a hand to his face.

"You fucking idiot!"

"Ah," Izuku muttered, and drew his leg in closer almost protectively, face still bleary with exhaustion and sleep. "Where's the accident?"

"What fucking accident? Your _face?!"_

Izuku looked around the room slowly, the vestiges of sleep still clinging like cobwebs, but between one blink and the next he was slowly wiping it away.

"The, the noise – "

"Was the _movie_."

"Oh…" Izuku slowly moved to stretch his leg out, face pinching at the pain that faintly throbbed in his knee. "Thought someone got hurt."

"Just you, dumbass."

"And the snacks," Kirishima lamented at the popcorn and soda strewn all over the floor. "Man, my sweet-salty popcorn, I never even got to eat the whole thing."

Izuku tried to smile, but it was broken by a yawn.

"S-Sorry guys. I'll clean it up."

"Go to bed," Yaoyorozu abruptly said. "We can sort this mess out. Can you walk?"

"What? Oh, yeah, this is fine. I'll be fine!" Izuku managed the smile this time, beaming up at her as he scrambled to his feet, barely, but just managing, to keep the flinch from crossing his face. When he tried to protest again, Yaoyorozu stared him down without another word, Bakugou hovering behind her menacingly.

Everyone watched him limp out of the common room, no one helping him to let his pride save face. And then Kirishima sighed loudly, crouched over the mess on the floor and said, "Kaminari, you lucky bastard."

Kaminari did not feel lucky with the heated, angry stare he was currently facing from Bakugou and most of the rest of the room.

* * *

 **17\. Investigative Process**

"Dismissed. Don't forget your report on hero dynamics needs to be handed in on Monday. Stay safe this weekend. Izuku, please stay behind." Aizawa didn't look up from his desk as he spoke to his class, shuffling papers. When he glanced up, Izuku was nervously stood in front of the table, hands wringing together.

What Aizawa liked to call the 'entourage' which, at this point, was half the class, were hovering outside of the classroom. Aizawa stalked over to shut the door, the bang of it making Izuku flinch.

"Am I in trouble?" Izuku squeaked, and Aizawa stared down his nose at him.

"Have you done something to be in trouble?"

Izuku went pale and abruptly shook his head. There was obviously something, but Aizawa wasn't prepared to dig for it.

"I'll take that as a no. You, myself, and All-Might are going to be testing the limitations of your ability today. The singing one."

Izuku relaxed.

"Oh, okay. That sounds cool! I'll let the others know not to wait up…?" he peered towards the door where there were faces clustered around the glass. Bakugou gave the middle finger when noticed.

"Please, do that," Aizawa muttered, having also caught sight of the crude gesture.

Izuku smiled timidly and trotted towards the door, Aizawa pinching his nose at the cacophony of noise and activity it took Izuku to convince the others to leave, which included physically throwing one of them, Aizawa couldn't see who, down the corridor, someone else shrieking as they ran to catch the person turned projectile.

No amount of overtime pay would make up for this.

* * *

"We're going to test microphone-speaker systems first," Aizawa said as he led Izuku into a soundproof room with a window connecting to another room. On the other side was Present Mic, who was grimacing in pain to begin with, but gave a bright thumbs up when Izuku settled into his seat in front of the table. Toshinori, following them, set a few snacks and drinks on the table for if Izuku got tired

"Present Mic has happily agreed to volunteer," Aizawa added, and Toshinori snorted.

Volunteer in this context meant Aizawa had tripped the other man down the stairs and then offhandedly mentioned he had a student who could 'help with that'.

The table had a microphone set on it, with a red button at the base.

"Push the button to activate the speakers. We want you to sing at Present Mic and see if your power works over the speakers. Toshinori and I will be waiting outside. First, however, we're going to connect you to this."

'This' looked like an ECG machine, wires and tabs sticking out of it. Izuku dutifully held out his arm and let Aizawa stick the tabs onto his arm and neck, setting the machine up with narrowed eyes as he tried to remember how Recovery Girl had explained it to him.

"What does it do?"

"It measures how many calories your quirk usage burns per minute. Push the button when you're ready."

Izuku watched as Aizawa and Toshinori left, the latter giving him a thumbs up and a confident smile, and only leaned forward to push the microphone button when the door shut.

"Uh, Present Mic, sir, I'm going to sing now. Please let me know if you feel any better."

Present Mic nodded enthusiastically and settled into his own chair with a wince. Izuku cleared his throat and sang his way through a song he'd heard on the radio that morning.

The machine beeped steadily next to him, but he didn't feel any more tired or wrung out as he sometimes did after singing. When the last note left his lips, Present Mic was shaking his head, giving a thumbs down.

"That's a no then," Aizawa muttered as he walked back in, Toshinori scooping up the hoard of energy rich foods from the table in preparation.

"Next test."

* * *

The next test was on the sports field, Present Mic on one side, Izuku, Aizawa and Toshinori on the other.

"As far as I'm aware, Toshinori and I have no injuries so if this one works then we shouldn't impact the results." Aizawa shared a knowing look with Toshinori, but the other couldn't leave without being suspicious.

"Okay…" Izuku mumbled, accepting the megaphone he was given, fumbling with the controls and nearly dragging the machine over when he moved his arm too sharply.

"When you're ready."

Izuku nodded, and when he sang, it was the same song as before.

He was barely onto the fourth line, his voice amplified through the megaphone, before the machine went wild and he stuttered to a stop.

"Yahoo!" Present Mic was hollering back. "Starting to feel right. As. Rain over here!"

Aizawa caught the paper as the machine spat it out, face unreadable as he glanced over what it had recorded.

"Chiyo will want to know about this," Toshinori murmured.

"Is it bad?" Izuku asked nervously, lowering the megaphone.

"Two hundred and fifty eight calories lost a minute, bad, and that's only for a minor injury. Larger might take more." Aizawa murmured. "Not to mention what it does to your other energy reserves like sugar, in the meantime. No wonder you collapse when healing strenuous injuries." His hand hovered over his side, reminded of when Izuku had saved his life, at nearly the cost of his own.

Toshinori scrubbed a hand over his face, and Izuku timidly caught the edge of his shirt.

"It, is it that bad? So long as I eat enough…?"

"I think it can be kept on top of," Toshinori managed to say, setting his hand supportively in Izuku's hair. "We're going to take the results to Chiyo and she'll make up a plan best suited to you. But, now that you've sang and had a result, I think next on the agenda were blood tests."

Izuku made a horrified face.

"But," Toshinori leaned in, and whispered conspiratorially, "If our hunches are correct, I'll buy you ice cream after. The biggest sundae you can eat."

"I thought," Aizawa interrupted, "That I was taking him for ice cream because you're behind on your marking?"

Toshinori flinched and then turned to face Aizawa with a blasé shrug to the look he was given.

"I'm not _that_ behind."

"I'm getting my damn ice cream," Aizawa hissed back and Toshinori drew himself up tall, ready to argue the right to take Izuku for ice cream.

Izuku watched the exchange, confused, and asked, "I mean we can all go for ice cream? It sounds fun! And I mean, ice cream, with Eraserhead and All-Might…" Izuku started muttering under his breath, pressing his fingers nervously together.

Aizawa and Toshinori continued glaring at each other, before Aizawa turned and started disconnecting Izuku's wires.

* * *

Their hunches were correct. Alongside calorie loss was a lower blood sugar content, marked in his blood results, Chiyo frowning over them the whole while as she scribbled notes.

Izuku was treated to a sundae as big as his head, and had to sit in between Toshinori and Aizawa to stop them from arguing because Aizawa had swept in with his card to pay for all three of them before Toshinori could grab cash.

(Other tests, on other days, showed those closest to Izuku had the best result, but so long as he was heard there was healing. Recordings did nothing. Present Mic learned to stay away from Aizawa when there were stairs involved, no matter how much Aizawa called it a labour of love.)

* * *

Next up is an AU chap! Please give me any and all suggestions for what you'd like to see!

What you have seen here today is a brief Dadzawa vis. DadMight attempt lmfao.

Izuku is just very confused and very full of ice cream.

If you're wondering why this story is being updated so quickly, its literally because before I put fingers to keyboard I had a bunch of drabble ideas written around the premise of Izuku being a wonderful fluff of giving and loveliness. I'm nearly done with them, and will probably slow down in the near future.


	10. Chapter 10

**Alternate Universe 2, A Different Future: Sunshine**

Bakugou coughed wetly, blinking up at the murky sky, the sounds of battle and fighting still around him. He tried to sit up but his arms and legs weren't listening to him. There was a shout of his name and then Izuku was skidding to a stop next to him on his knees, the cowl of his outfit ripped back away from his face.

"Kacchan!" Izuku's voice had a far-away quality, like he was underwater. A sharp sting on his right cheek made Bakugou focus, and he growled, the taste of blood on his tongue, "Did you fu – fucking slap me?"

Izuku's face was pinched with distress, and he lifted one of Bakugou's hands to press into his side. Bakugou's fingers twitched as they connected with something wet and viscous. He was abruptly reminded of the hole in his side.

"You need to keep pressure on it, Kacchan," Izuku said firmly, pushing on Bakugou's hand, and barely flinched as Todoroki came crashing in next to them, his normally impassive face wrinkled with worry. One hand reached to settle on Izuku's neck, the other pressed tenderly to Bakugou's wrist.

"Are you all okay?" his head spun briefly, like on a swivel, ever vigilant of threats.

"I'll get him on his feet," Izuku replied, determined. "Go and help the others."

Todoroki's face pinched, but he swept his thumb gently over Bakugou's bloody skin, briefly squeezed the back of Izuku's neck and then he was back into the fray, his location just a wall of ice and a spluttering of flames.

"I can stand," Bakugou said, voice weak all of a sudden, words sticking in his throat. His vision spotted back for a moment.

Izuku pressed both of his hands over Bakugou's, over the gaping wound in his side. Blood briefly gushed between pressed fingers.

" _You are my sunshine…"_ Izuku began, voice shaking. There were tears in his eyes, and Bakugou couldn't get his arm to move, to wipe them away, to punch whoever had caused them. He had a sneaking suspicion he was the cause.

" _My only sunshine…"_

He wanted to ask what was wrong, but it was like his tongue had turned to lead in his mouth, darkness creeping in more and more every time he blinked.

" _You make me happy, when skies are grey."_

There as an explosion nearby, and Izuku's body arched over his, protecting him with a fierce look adorning his face. Bakugou managed to swipe his fingertips against a strong jaw when it was closer, was rewarded with a watery smile.

He wanted to tell Izuku he looked dumb, crying when he was in his twenties, was an adult already, but words evaded him. His arm dropped back down.

" _You'll never know dear, how much I love you."_

Izuku wasn't watching him now as he sang, eyes on the battlefield, his voice warbling on the notes. He hadn't withdrawn from his protective hunch, but his knees were trembling and his nose was bleeding.

" _Please don't take my sunshine away…"_

Bakugou lost the battle against his consciousness then, and let Izuku's voice lull him into the dark void of an exhausted body.

* * *

When Bakugou woke up, he was swaddled in a hospital bed and no longer felt delirious. He couldn't quite remember how he had gotten there, but when he tried to sit up, a dull pain tugged at his side.

"Careful," Todoroki was next to him, his voice low and haggard. "You'll hurt for a bit, but the worst is gone."

Bakugou reluctantly let Todoroki guide him to a seated position, but didn't hide how he gratefully leaned into the familiar touch, a brush of cold fingers down his arm, the curl of a hand over his wrist when he was sat up.

"Damn Deku again, huh?" Bakugou laughed, tried for derisory and only managed tired. "Where is he? I thought he'd be crying over me."

Todoroki remained silent, and eventually Bakugou looked up at him when no answer was forthcoming.

"Oi…where's Deku?"

Todoroki's eyes evasively darted to the side, and Bakugou ripped his wrist out from under his hand, grasping at him in return.

"Answer me," he said, voice low and quiet. "Where. Is. Deku."

"You had a punctured lung, a ruptured spleen. You were bleeding out fast," Todoroki said, his voice curt. "When you were brought to hospital, you only needed stitches, please don't make me say it out loud." Todoroki bowed his head, posture defensive as he curled around himself.

Bakugou's heart dropped, like a steel weight, and all of a sudden could not find it in himself to breathe.

"Is he – ?" Bakugou croaked, because he had to, _needed_ to know, and Todoroki slowly and methodically laced their fingers together.

"Not," Todoroki's voice broke, and he couldn't quite get it back under control. "He's not but…not sure if he'll wake up."

"I need to see him, fuck, get me out of this fucking bed – " Bakugou started ripping out wires and cables, the heart monitor screaming at him, the IV stand crashing to the floor. The pain was nothing compared to the tightness in his chest, the vice crushing everything inside of him.

Todoroki helped him limp his way down the corridor, kept a solid arm firm around his waist. Bakugou would normally complain against the babying treatment. Fear kept the anger at bay.

* * *

"He's too still," were the first words Bakugou managed, strangled, as he stared at Izuku's prone form in the bed. "Like a fucking sleeping beauty. What's the box, what's all this fucking _shit._ "

"The ventilator helps him breathe," Todoroki replied, voice small. Bakugou's arm around his shoulders tightened, tucking the other's body firmer into his side, less for physical support and more for something else.

"The doctor's said – " Todoroki's voice shuddered out, and Bakugou felt the burn behind his own eyes, the tears and anger and terror.

"They said he can have a couple of weeks, but not to hold out hope after that. One of us will have to make the decision then."

"What? What fucking decision?!"

"To take him off the life support," Todoroki turned his head slightly then, his cheek pressed against Bakugou's head. His breath left him out in a shaky exhale.

Bakugou fisted his hands by his side, feeling his body tremble.

"Can I have some time with him?" Bakugou asked, feeling frail, and Todoroki helped him into the seat by the bed. Before he could go, Bakugou was grasping at his shirt, tugging firmly, and Todoroki let himself get guided in for the firm, closed lip kiss he was given.

"I'm just going to be outside," Todoroki whispered, and the door was shut behind him with barely a sound.

Bakugou watched Izuku for a few minutes then, hands clenched tightly on his knees. There was a war of emotions in his chest and he didn't know what was going to win.

"You fucking _moron,_ " he eventually bit out, scrubbing his hands against his eyes. "You _asshole._ Shithead! Singing that stupid fucking song at me, who's the fucking sunshine here, not fucking me."

He reached out a hand to grasp at Izuku's, a weak pulse under his fingertips, his thumb pressed to the ring Izuku proudly wore on his left hand.

"Of course I fucking know how much you love me, it's written all over your stupid fucking _face."_

Bakugou leaned over, forehead pressed to the back of Izuku's hand, and was not ashamed that the next noise that left him was a sob.

" _Please don't take my sunshine away,"_ Bakugou begged, voice hushed. "I never got to say 'I love you' back."

* * *

Hi, have some AU angst. Someone else suggested Prince Todoroki, Dragon Bakugou, Caught-In-The-Middle Izuku (thank you Mage of Hope!) and that'll definitely be next AU! But I felt like sadness. Lmao. Life is crap right now so characters must suffer.

Hope you enjoyed this one! I don't know how subtle it is, but this is future TodoDekuBaku.


	11. Chapter 11

**18\. Look What You Made Me Do**

" _Izuku!"_ Uraraka's voice was a scream, and Izuku whipped around, One For All crackling against his skin. He had thought it was a Nomu, the grounds crawling with them. His fist connected, instead, with the villain with hands, Shigaraki Tomura, fingers outstretched for his face. Geared up to hit a monster, Izuku had instead punched with his near full force, a human instead.

It was like time had stopped, Shigaraki's fingers nearly touching Izuku's nose, his fist buried in a soft, malleable stomach. Shigaraki puked blood straight into Izuku's face.

The body went sailing. It even lost a few hands along the way, dropping from the sky like macabre confetti.

Izuku, at fifteen years old, was convinced he'd murdered someone, villain or no.

* * *

" _Look what you made me do,"_ were the hushed, muttered words Shigaraki woke up to. _"Look what you made me do."_

Despite being hit by what seemed to be the equivalent to a nuclear detonation in human form, Shigaraki was surprised to feel, well, anything to be honest. He was pretty sure time and space had warped around the part of his stomach he'd been socked in.

But then he was turning his head, the rest of his body bound to the bed he was in, to see the very person who had punched him hard enough to turn most thought to mush.

" _I don't like your kingdom keys, they once belonged to me – "_ the words were cut off as green eyes met his, and Izuku was darting to his feet, shake that'd he been drinking from clattering to the floor and spreading its contents like pale pink blood.

 _Man,_ Shigaraki thought, _my thoughts are grim._

"You're awake," Izuku said, bewildered, and his head twitched towards the door.

"I'm _alive,_ " Shigaraki responded, equally as confused, and was even further confused when Izuku flushed in embarrassment. Then, Shigaraki clicked.

"The singing. You helped?" his words were accusatory.

"I need to go," Izuku stammered out in return, eyes darting between the bound villain, the steadily growing puddle of dropped shake, and the door.

"You _helped,"_ Shigaraki repeated, unable to keep the disbelief from his voice this time. "A hero helped a _villain_."

Izuku faltered, back against the door, hand fumbling with the handle.

"You would have died. I didn't want it to be my fault. We're _heroes_ not murderers." And then he blushed darker for daring to give a response, darting from the room seconds after.

Later, when Shigaraki was free from the hospital, from the clutches of his hated enemy, he hunted down Izuku from looks alone, from word of mouth, from stalking him in the street because he _had_ to know him.

And, when he had a photo of the boy, clasped between finger and thumb, he knew one thing for certain. He could – _would_ – have use for someone like that.

* * *

 **19\. Workout Sessions**

"Why are you just lingering in the doorway, shithead?" Bakugou snapped, shoving his shoulder against Kirishima's. From beyond the doorway, in the on-site gym that Bakugou and Kirishima had agreed to meet at to spot each other, came the faint strains of a song.

"He was here before I got here," Kirishima simply replied, but didn't move as Bakugou leaned over him to look into the room.

Running on one of the treadmills was Izuku, singing softly to himself and not even the slightest bit out of breath. He was dressed in spandex running leggings and a fitting tank top. Set against the controls was an open text book that he occasionally flipped through, and he had wires sneaking out of his pocket that connected to the earbuds in his ears.

"Why the fuck do I recognise the song," Bakugou muttered angrily.

"It's 'Sora Ni Utaeba'," Kirishima answered absentmindedly. "The opening to that new cartoon based around heroes."

"Figures. Fucking fanboy." Bakugou shoved Kirishima away from the door and strode across the room to Izuku. When beside him, he slammed a hand on his shoulder and Izuku stumbled on the treadmill, Bakugou reaching across to slap his hand against the emergency stop.

Bakugou's eyes tracked across the display, and his question of what Izuku was doing in the gym at nearly ten at night was covered by the urge, of which he answered, to say, "What the _fuck."_

"Kacchan?" Izuku asked, taking out his earphones and wrapping the wires around the back of his neck so they hung loose in front of him and scooping up his textbook. "Is everything okay?"

"You ran _twenty six_ miles on this fucking thing? When did you get here?"

Izuku's eyes widened in panic, his head whipping around to glance at the clock.

"Oh! Oh, I didn't realise I'd been here so long!"

Bakugou felt his mouth pinch.

"The treadmill says you've burned over two thousand calories, _Deku._ Not to mention you were singing you fucking idiot! What if there was someone else here?! Do you want to pass the fuck out when there's no one here to catch your swooning ass?!"

Izuku flinched, eyes skittering to the side nervously.

"I just…the running and reading helps me not have to think sometimes." Izuku rolled his shoulder, and Bakugou let his restrictive hand fall off of it so Izuku could take back his personal space.

Bakugou eyed him, Izuku clutching his textbook to his chest.

"You already don't think, obviously," Bakugou muttered abrasively, and gave Izuku's shoulder a shove, trying to ignore how the bared skin felt against his, how Izuku's muscles – _muscles, what the fuck Deku –_ bunched under his palm.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Izuku said, voice thin, lips trembling. The textbook creaked ominously in his clenched fingers.

"I'm not upset! I'm angry!"

Izuku shrugged again, face still slightly pinched. "It seems all the same nowadays. Every one getting upset or angry because of me."

"It's just they're awful at showing they worry," Kirishima dived headfirst into the conversation, an arm slung around Bakugou's shoulders. "Because man, you're a good guy, Izuku, you can sing people to life and you can bench press an elephant without thinking about it."

Izuku flushed, pleased, and ducked his head sheepishly.

"You want one of us to walk you back?" Kirishima continued pleasantly, ignoring as Bakugou angrily shoved him off. "I mean, two thousand calories, that's the average in a day to _eat_ right? You're not tired?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine," Izuku replied quickly. "I've had around six thousand today, so I think I'm plenty fine. Because the Sports Festival is coming up and we have to train and stuff, I had to increase my 'calorific intake' so I could do all my stamina training and quirk training."

"How the hell do you even fit that all in?" Kirishima asked out loud and Izuku smiled up at him.

"Mostly packed smoothies and high energy meals. It's quite easy, Aizawa-sensei gave me some cooking lessons with Ishiyama-sensei."

"Cementoss?"

"Yeah, we make big meals in the cafeteria kitchen and then I can box them all up and bring them home. You should come over to our building sometime and try some! I mean, if you like potatoes and rice and pasta. They're bland, but we're only learning seasoning after the Festival."

"It's a date!" Kirishima promised, and nearly face planted the floor when Bakugou punched him in the back of the head, pressed a guiding hand onto Izuku's shoulder, and escorted him up until the point that Izuku bid him a shy goodnight and closed the door to his room behind him.

* * *

"Bakugou, you are the _biggest_ mother hen I have ever seen," Kirishima said, probably in the most inopportune time, with Bakugou spotting the heavy weight Kirishima was bench pressing.

A vein twitched in Bakugou's head and his hands fisted slightly in warning before they were back to hovering carefully over the weights.

"Someone fucking has to. Deku'd fucking kill himself otherwise."

"Twenty six miles," Kirishima breathed. "Man, he didn't even look like he'd broken a sweat. What is he made out of, pure determination?"

"Pure determination to _die_ obviously," Bakugou muttered back. Then, "You even think about going on that 'date' I'll fucking kill you."

"I figured as much."

* * *

Tada! I have officially ran out of prewritten prompts. Be prepared to wait weeks for updates like everything else lmao


	12. Chapter 12

**20\. Powerhouse**

"Okay everybody, today is free training," Aizawa shouted. "That means you do whatever you want within the boundaries of this field and its equipment to prepare for the festival. Be smart and don't show off your best moves, but make sure you also work together. This festival is a one off fight. Everyone here today will be your future allies. Teamwork is still vital!"

Izuku stretched lazily next to Uraraka, sighing comfortably as something in his back loosened and popped.

"What are you going to do Izuku?" Uraraka asked, watching him as he finished his stretches.

"Not much, really," Izuku shrugged. "Not without breaking the course or someone to spar with. I might jog some laps, or do some squats or something."

"Ooh, I know!" Uraraka suddenly said, her grin almost diabolical.

* * *

"What the hell is everyone lined up for?" Aizawa asked in disbelief. "This is an exercise in abilities, not an exercise of my patience."

Uraraka bounded up next to him, already squeezing her way into the back of the queue, cheeks flushed and positively giddy.

"Izuku-kun is squatting with everyone on his shoulders to train! He hasn't dropped anyone yet and makes it look _so_ easy. It's fun! No one disagreed when I asked if they wanted to try it, not even Bakugou!"

In fact, as she spoke, Aizawa could see Izuku squatting, up, down, up, down, with Bakugou on his shoulders, his arms stiffly crossed and face halfway between bewildered and constipated.

"I knew I couldn't trust the lot of you to do anything normal," Aizawa muttered.

Izuku was also perfectly capable of lifting Aizawa onto his shoulders and squatting with him, too, did five reps without needing to catch his breath. Aizawa most definitely _did not_ tell Toshinori and never would, not even under the threat of death.

* * *

 **21\. The Obstacle Course (Izuku is the Obstacle)**

"Oh _shit,"_ Bakugou breathed, almost stumbling to a stop as Izuku sheered a robot in half with sheer brute force. And then he nearly punched himself in the face for thinking of _Deku_ in any way attractive.

Of course, the cameras caught that exact moment and broadcast it in glorious HD. When they watched over the footage, Bakugou didn't know whether to feel victorious or angry when others also gasped at Izuku's performance.

* * *

 **22\. Word vs. Word**

"Man, your quirk is so cool," Izuku breathed while Shinshou was ranting at him, and for once, the purple haired boy was at a loss for words. "I have a voice quirk too," Izuku continued. "But mine heals people. Yours is so cool!"

"What…?" Shinshou was wary, and then seemed to click that Izuku had _answered_.

He thought about what Izuku had said later, even when he was suplexed into the fucking ground after Izuku had broken his own finger by will alone, because while apparently Izuku could heal people with his voice, he also had the strength of a freight train going full speed.

Shinshou couldn't believe he'd forgotten that.

* * *

"You…did well," Shinshou said, gruffly, and looked to the side as Izuku beamed up at him from his perch on the edge of the infirmary bed. Even cast and strapped up, his arm looked horribly mangled.

"Thank you, Shinshou-kun! I'm sorry about before, did I hurt you? I tried not to use my quirk, I mean, we're all out here to do our best, not kill each other…though someone should tell Kacchan that."

"I'm…okay. Are you? Will you heal yourself?"

Izuku's smile faltered and he glanced down at his arm.

"Uh…I…my quirk only works on others. And Recovery Girl said this was the best she could do. I'm going to uh, be scarred and stuff. But that's my fault my using my quirk so recklessly. I just…"

Shinshou knew. He knew that feeling, experienced it himself where it curled tight in his chest, hammering at his ribs nearly every day.

"You just need to do your best, to show the others what you're worth."

"Yeah." Izuku sighed, and with his free hand, patted the bed beside him. "Sit down? I know you said you're okay, but I threw you pretty hard. It's still gotta hurt some."

"You want to help me? Your opponent?"

Izuku cocked his head to the side.

"We're schoolmates before we're opponents, Shinshou-kun. I mean, are we fighting right now? No." Izuku cracked a grin, and patted the bed again. "I feel bad for hurting you, even for the festival, so I'd like to help if you're up for it."

Shinshou set himself down carefully and primly onto the edge of the bed.

"Will it make me tired? I don't want to miss the next match…"

"Oh, no! You'll be fine! My quirk doesn't rely on your stamina or anything. Besides, Kacchan against Todoroki-kun? I wouldn't want to miss that either! We should be fine though, Todoroki-kun is still being seen to in the next room. We were going to walk back to the stands together. Did you want to join us?"

Shinshou shyly ducked his head, but agreed. And when Izuku started singing for him, it was the best moment of the festival by far. Being eyed up and judged by Todoroki for walking back with them was totally worth it.

In his opinion, Izuku was wrong. _His_ voice activated quirk was much cooler. But they could debate it until they turned blue in the face, and Izuku had the perfect pout for winning those arguments after all.

* * *

 **23\. The Izuku Effect**

Endeavour was a curt man. Harsh, to a degree. He did not believe in mincing his words, his actions. Truth was truth, strength was strength.

He could admit, he'd never before felt frightened when faced by someone who looked the human equivalent of a kitten.

"It's obvious I'm not All-Might," Izuku said firmly.

Endeavour went to reply. Izuku's reedy, but strong voice spoke over him, undertones of steel and a near savage anger to his eyes.

" _Todoroki-kun is not you."_

Those words channelled his grief, his frustration, his fury for every morning after a particularly arduous weekend that Todoroki would limp into the classroom. Izuku hoped it showed in his eyes.

He didn't know it had showed too well.

* * *

Later on, when Izuku was shouting, when he was telling Todoroki it was _his_ power, _his_ will to do what he wanted, to become a hero, the words that Endeavour wanted to shout, the selfish pride of Todoroki stepping onto the path of what he himself couldn't do and what Todoroki was _made_ for…those words died in his throat, because without even faltering, Izuku's fierce eyes met his through the crowd from the ring even as Todoroki set himself ablaze.

* * *

"Your protégé is a fucking nightmare, where did you find him," Endeavour hissed as he passed All-Might in the hallway during the aftermath, and All-Might was nothing but confused.

Izuku was too wonderful, after all.

* * *

 **24\. Sweet Gains**

"Ah, shit, fuck," Izuku muttered under his breath, and blushed when Kirishima gave a booming laugh at him.

"It's not funny," Izuku retorted, whipping around and cursing mildly again as his unwieldy cast knocked a spoon to the floor. "You try to prepare food when you have one hand left!"

"Oh man, I never thought it'd get to the day where I heard you of all people swear," Kirishima laughed, wiping an imaginary tear from his eyes. "I hope I'll get to lord this over Ojiro again someday."

When his laughter had died away, Izuku tilted his chin defiantly and made eye contact.

"Shit, fuck, damn," he hissed back at him and Kirishima was set off again, at the indignant look on Izuku's face contrasting the viciousness of the swearing.

"Come on, Izuku," Kirishima finally said breathlessly. "Tell me what to do, I'll be your hands."

Izuku talked him through the motions then, his free hand pointing and guiding, his voice a soft murmur.

Kirishima was proud to say he made it through a perfectly fine, calorie high dinner with Izuku and lived to tell the tale. They even went to the gym together, Izuku trotting gently on his treadmill and Kirishima sat next to him with his dumbbells.

All in all, not a bad day. Except, you know, Bakugou eventually cottoned on and escaped the clutches of Sero who Kirishima had convinced to distract for the day.

* * *

 **25\. Support Hero Main**

" _Todoroki-kun!"_

Todoroki's head whipped up at the shout, to see Izuku leaning over the banister, braced with his stomach on the bar and his good hand cupped around his mouth.

" _Todoroki-kun do your best! Don't lose!"_

Todoroki abruptly caught fire. It was totally intentional, no matter what you asked him.

* * *

I lied. Some inspiration remains! I walk to work. A lot of my ideas come from the fact I'm stuck with my own thoughts for 30mins or more at 5am in the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

**26\. A Nearly Impossible Mission**

"Izuku, I've got to ask," Iida said slowly.

"Yeah?" Izuku asked, trying to get out of his hospital bed carefully, hand on the railing the bed offered.

"Were you humming the _Mission Impossible theme_ when you were fighting Stain?"

A crackle against skin and the railing snapped off into Izuku's hand. He nearly careened forward, but Iida was already there, arm around his shoulders to help keep him upright, Todoroki half stood as if to help.

Izuku remembered it vividly, the event having been less than twenty four hours ago. Iida, on the floor. He and Todoroki fighting. His heart in his throat as he desperately hoped they would _live_ and _win_.

And yes, unable to help himself, unable to sing while fighting and heaving for breath, he'd hummed the theme to save his friends, to help them while they fought to survive.

"Singing and fighting at the same time is difficult, when trying to concentrate on one or the other." Izuku let Iida help him back onto the bed, and tugged him down next to him, keeping his hand on Iida's arm.

"Humming is much easier, and I…you two were hurt, we were fighting the _Hero Killer._ I couldn't…I wasn't letting anyone die if I could help it." Izuku jutted his chin out defiantly, defensively. "You two, everyone, they're all so important to me. You're all my precious friends. Humming kept you safe, kept you healthy. And…I panicked and it was the first, easiest tune to come to mind."

Izuku blushed here, and felt a little wrung out and tired from his explanation, letting his head thump to Iida's shoulder, fingers still loosely curled around Iida's arm.

"I didn't mean it to sound like an accusation," Iida said softly, the words humming through Izuku from where his cheek was pressed to soft hospital clothes. "I was just…incredulous that that was the first thing to come to mind in such a dire situation. It made it seem…"

"Easier," Todoroki offered. "It's like your singing helps me fight better, though I can't speak for any others. It was comforting. It may have even saved us. Surely his paralytic effects would have lasted longer if not for you, and the fighting would have been in vain."

"Though…" Iida added. "I would like to ask, why did Aizawa-sensei insist you be attached to…whatever that is?"

Izuku rolled his eyes so he was looking at the monitor he was attached to, refusing to lift his head.

"Aizawa-sensei is paranoid I'll sing you better. If I take it off, the heart monitor flatlines. If I sing, the calorie monitor makes noise. I guess both situations would notify the nurses or doctors. Apparently straining myself after periods of 'great stress' is no good." Izuku hefted a big sigh. "Like I don't know my current limits. I wouldn't hurt myself."

He was only the slightest bit offended when Todoroki murmured about how it was a good idea.

* * *

 **27\. You Spin Me Right Round**

"I – I don't think I can," Izuku stammered, eyes wide. "I'll…I can just wait here while you go ahead, I'll get a snack or something."

"Are you chickening out, Deku?" Bakugou slung a heavy arm around Izuku's neck, staring up with a wide grin at the rollercoaster. "It was you that got us all here, you're going on _everything."_

"It's a bit high," Izuku tried to squeeze away without getting himself hurt as Bakugou started dragging him towards the line, where Uraraka was already waiting, waving her arm almost impatiently.

"Are you going to scream?" Bakugou asked, almost callous. "Will I need to hold your hand?"

"Kacchan, the last person to hold my hand during something that scared me got their fingers crushed, are you that eager to suffer the same?" Izuku gulped as they got closer, and Bakugou's step faltered.

During the now almost routine movie nights held every week, someone had suggested a horror movie. Izuku had snatched at the nearest hand in fright, Sero's, and snapped three of his fingers, one of them in two places before catching himself at Sero's yelp.

Izuku had hummed it better, but they'd had to put an end to the movie night because by the end everything was said and done, it was too late to continue the movie.

"It's fine," Izuku quickly said. "You can go on the ride, and I'll…I'll buy some snacks, like I said!"

Bakugou had a sour expression that Izuku couldn't place, before he was scoffing angrily and steering Izuku in another direction instead, ignoring Uraraka shouting after them.

"You still like the teacups?" Bakugou asked gruffly, and Izuku nodded almost shyly, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"Good. I'm going to spin us so fucking hard you puke."

(Bakugou made the mistake of letting Izuku spin the teacups the second time. He was inevitably launched out of the ride to the sounds of Izuku's gleeful laughter before he'd noticed Bakugou was gone.)

* * *

 **28\. Rest Your Weary Eyes**

"You look tired today, Izuku," Iida noted, watching as Izuku yawned for what seemed like the twentieth time in as many minutes. "Is everything okay?"

Izuku hesitated, scrubbing at his eyes where his jaw cracking yawn had made them water.

"Just…trouble sleeping, I think. Sometimes I have trouble getting the sleep at night, and even if I do I'm inevitably awake at about three or four in the morning, and then I usually go for a run or do homework."

Iida frowned, watching as Izuku listlessly picked at his lunch. Izuku seemed unaware of the worried, scrutinising look.

"What's wrong Iida?" Uraraka asked, plonking a tray down next to him as she settled into her seat. "That's a fierce look on your face!"

"Izuku's having trouble sleeping."

"It's nothing, really," Izuku said quickly, lifting his head in alarm at hearing Uraraka's involvement. "It just happens sometimes."

"Poor sleep can lead to poor health," Iida pointed out. "And you've already had one bout of sickness this term, do you really want another?"

Izuku twisted his face up then, setting his eating utensils aside.

"I…I've been having nightmares. I don't like to sleep because all I can see are the dead faces of my friends, of you guys. They started back when the villains attacked but…they just seem to have gotten worse recently, I don't know why." Izuku picked his chopsticks back up in the ensuing silence and returned to aimlessly pushing his food around.

"Oh, Izuku," Uraraka said sadly, and shuffled seats around until she was next to Izuku and could wrap her arms around his midriff. "We're all here. We're all heroes. There's nothing to worry about!"

Iida watched as Izuku's lips trembled, as if he were struggling to keep tears from spilling down his cheeks.

"When Bakugou stayed with you, when you were ill, did his presence keep the nightmares at bay?"

Izuku shrugged a shoulder almost dismissively before mumbling, "Yeah. It did."

"I got it then!" Uraraka said firmly. "We're all going to have a sleepover in the common room. All the blankets, all the pillows, everything!"

"We can't just – " Izuku began.

"I'm in," Kirishima said as he loudly set his tray down onto the table. "A huge communal sleepover sounds fun. Like we're on a trip!"

"What's this about a sleepover?" Tsuyu asked, drawn over by Kirishima's loud voice.

After that, it was like a tidal wave of bodies coming closer at the prospect of a sleepover, the words murmured across the cafeteria.

* * *

Later that night, Izuku was sandwiched between so many bodies he couldn't tell who was who, who began where, or where he was in relation to the room, anchored by Uraraka's small, warm hand in his.

It was the most rested he'd been in weeks.

* * *

And another one completed! Please let me know if you have any thoughts on what you'd like to see Izuku and Pals involved in!

Thank you for all reviews, favourites, follows etc!


	14. Chapter 14

**29\. A Nearly Deadly Meeting**

"If you scream," warm, stale breath brushed Izuku's cheek and ear, "You and everyone else here will die."

Izuku froze as cold, damp fingers curled around his throat, and did his absolute best not to breathe. The prickling feeling that had tumbled down his spine resolved into a pit of fear.

"There," Shigaraki breathed, his index finger rubbing back and forth against Izuku's neck. "That's good. I'm not here to cause trouble, not today, no."

"Can I ask why you're here?" Izuku dared to murmur, and when Shigaraki nudged him forward, Izuku walked, acutely aware there was only three fingers and a thumb on his skin, when there could easily be one more.

"You remember me, yes? From before."

"Yes. You attacked the Hero course twice. The second time – " Izuku hesitated.

Shigaraki laughed, low and almost delighted.

"Yes, yes, that too. When you helped me because you aren't a _murderer._ Let's find somewhere to sit. I wouldn't want your friends to find us too soon."

Izuku fell silent, let himself be guided and weaved through bodies and around corners alike until they were in a quiet alcove with a bench, close enough to hear the hubbub of activity but not close enough to see it.

Shigaraki let Izuku sit first, fingers twitching at his sides, and then sat himself, twisted to face Izuku, a hand now around his wrist instead of his neck, eyes wide as they took in each and every feature.

It was different from a picture vs having the real thing in front of him again.

"You're going to sing for me again," Shigaraki breathed. "I told you, I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm just here for you. I want it again."

"O-Oh," Izuku stammered, swallowing several times in quick succession. "It…I'm sorry Shi-Shigaraki-san, but it won't be the same as before?"

Shigaraki's almost easy going expression soured.

" _Why."_

"My singing, it…it's normal, unless you're hurt. And then it helps."

Shigaraki's face loosened again, less murderous and now soft.

"Well, I'm sure you can fix _that_ problem too, like you did last time."

Izuku felt his stomach flip over and over as Shigaraki slowly drew his hand over so it was resting on his kneecap, his grip sliding further up Izuku's arm.

"Go on. Hurt me."

"Um, Shigaraki-san," Izuku tried to reason, and Shigaraki leaned uncomfortably close, their faces nearly touching.

" _Do it."_

Izuku shivered and then closed his eyes, squeezing down on Shigaraki's knee, feeling his power dance along his knuckles, felt it give way under his palm with a crunch and a pop. Shigaraki didn't even twitch, and when Izuku opened his eyes again, he was still close but now he was grinning.

"I'm hurt now," Shigaraki whispered. "You can sing, and make it work."

"Yeah," Izuku replied, feeling almost, _almost,_ mollified that Shigaraki's grip on his arm had loosened, barely even a fingertip touching his skin. Then, clearing his throat, he asked, "Do you have a favourite song?"

* * *

Izuku stayed on that bench long after Shigaraki had gone, when he'd tapped his middle and index finger against Izuku's hand as he sang, rubbed a thumb along his wrist as Izuku's voice had warbled away into nothing.

Then when it was done, Shigaraki had simply sighed, as if a weight had left his shoulders, murmured "I'll see you soon, Izuku Midoriya. I'm sure." And as he'd stood, he'd swiped the blood from Izuku's nose away with his knuckle before striding off.

That's how the rest of the group had found him. Sitting, shaking, dry blood staining his upper lip, and too wound up to talk.

* * *

 **30\. Unwrapped**

"Stay still, please," Chiyo chided as Izuku squirmed and dithered on the chair, watching as Recovery Girl slowly unwound the wrappings on his arm. "If you aren't still I won't take it off."

Izuku held his breath as Chiyo moved on to cutting the cast off, exposing pale, slightly sweaty flesh to the air.

"Oh," Chiyo said, her tone soft. "Midoriya, I'm sorry. I assumed it would be…a little better."

Izuku flexed his fingers, twisting his arm this way and that, the light glittering off the scars dotting his arm, setting them to shimmering white and silver.

"It looks kind of cool though, don't you think?" Izuku grinned up at her, and pushed himself to stand. "I'm going to class now, do you need me for anything else?"

Chiyo looked longingly at the testing equipment lined up in one corner of the room, before waving him off.

"You're good for today, Midoriya. I'll see you when I see you – and hopefully for not any Quirk related reasons!"

Izuku was grinning as he left.

* * *

"Tada!" Izuku declared loudly as he stepped into the classroom, recently released arm stretched ahead of him. "I'm free of the cast!"

"Oh!" Uraraka's voice sounded saddened. "Your arm!"

"I know, I know," Izuku's smile faltered. "I mean, it looks cool right? And I mean, heroes always have cool scars. I can show them off."

Todoroki wordlessly reached forward, fingers closing around Izuku's outstretched wrist loosely.

"Sorry," he said, quietly.

"Todoroki-kun, no," Izuku immediately chastised. "It was my fault for pushing."

Todoroki tried to smile, and then tried to add, nonchalantly, "Did you…speak with Endeavour? He was asking about you. A lot."

"I might have spoken with him," Izuku said sheepishly, scratching at his neck almost nervously. "I might have, slightly, told him of." His expression sharpened. "Has he been giving you trouble since then?"

Todoroki's grip tightened gently around Izuku's wrist, a conflict of emotions crossing his face.

"No. But thank you anyway." Then Todoroki cleared his throat, let go, and returned to his seat.

The awkward silence was broken by Kirishima who eased his way by Izuku in the doorway and exclaimed, "Whoa, Midoriya, dude! Cool scars!"

* * *

 **31\. Serial Sweater Stealer**

"Midoriya, your jumper is like two sizes too big," Kaminari noted as he flopped next to Izuku on the couch in the common room, pulling out his phone with a yawn. Izuku tucked his legs up tighter to his body, collar of his current sweater pulled up over his nose, his eyes hooded and sleepy.

"Ah." Izuku agreed. "That's because it's actually Iida-kun's. We did our washing together and it ended up with my stuff, but he's never asked for it back. So, um…I kept it. He hasn't said anything. It's cosy." Izuku's sleepiness turned defensive.

"Nah, it's just…" and then Kaminari paused thoughtfully, fingers hovering above the phone screen. "You know, I lost a sweater recently too. Maybe the same thing happened to me."

Izuku tucked himself smaller, slipping his arms up into the body of the sweater and leaving the sleeves loose against his body.

"Strange, that, huh?" Izuku mumbled, voice once again quiet and almost lost in the collar of his top.

"It was, absolutely, definitely him," Bakugou muttered as he walked through with a coffee mug in one hand, and he forced himself onto the other side of Izuku. "He's got three of mine already."

"You only bring them out to wash them," Izuku hissed, even as he curled himself up to get cosier. "None of you love them like I do."

Kaminari wasn't too sure what to say, unused to this quiet, tired Bakugou, and unwilling to set off his fuse.

Eventually, he said, "You're right. I only packed the sweater in case it got cold and the winters here are mild so…I mean, if Iida's not saying anything, I won't either. In fact, I've got a couple more you can have if you – "

"One," Bakugou said sternly. "The one is enough." His eyes met Kaminari's over the fluff of Izuku's hair, daring him to disagree, and Kaminari smiled tightly and nervously before turning back to his phone.

"I'm sure you're right. If Izuku's stolen one from everyone, he's got plenty."

Izuku had no words to give. He'd fallen asleep wedged between them, cosy and warm, upper body leaning into Bakugou and his feet, which he'd snuck under Kaminari's thigh without Kaminari even having noticed.

* * *

Interlude chapter next buddies! Probably TodoDekuBaku fantasy chapter. I feel if I make it go over 3000 words I'll probs turn it into a side story and then interlude something different. Hope you enjoyed this one.


	15. Chapter 15

**Alternate Universe 3, Different Career Choice 2: The Aftermath**

Todoroki looked up from his lunch, startled, as the door to his office slammed open so hard it bounced off of the opposite wall and nearly nailed Bakugou in the face. The handle had left a sizeable dent in the drywall.

"S-Sir!" the receptionist was saying. "Sir, please, you can't – "

"It's alright." Todoroki lifted a hand, his other setting his chopsticks aside, even as Bakugou heaved and snarled in the doorway.

"It's _alright?!"_ Bakugou sneered. " _Alright?!"_ he threw the door shut behind him, doorframe rattling. The noise nearly rivalled the explosions Bakugou so enjoyed.

Storming across the room, Bakugou slammed his phone face up on the table in front of Todoroki, the glass of water tipping precariously. It would have spilled if Todoroki hadn't waved his hand to freeze it

"You tell me how _this_ is alright, you fucking _half-and-half bastard piece of shit."_

Todoroki picked up a napkin to pat at his mouth and glanced down at the phone. His tongue felt like lead suddenly in his mouth.

Bakugou – because he was sneaky, he would admit that – had lingered at the clinic after being patched up and snapped a nearly candid photo of Izuku. Izuku in the nurse's outfit that Todoroki had drunkenly dared him to wear, Izuku in the outfit that Todoroki couldn't see in person because of the same coordinated incident Bakugou had gotten injured in, except two blocks over.

"Bakugou, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were aiming for a panty shot." Todoroki leaned back into his chair, crossing his hands on his lap and trying to stay professional.

Bakugou clenched his fists around the sparks that filtered between his fingers, leaned forward and hissed, _"I don't think he was fucking wearing any in the first place."_

Todoroki set off the fire alarm, and thirteen floors, eight of which were occupied by off duty heroes doing paperwork as Todoroki had been, had to be evacuated.

* * *

"Shouto," Izuku wailed as he collapsed into the booth, his breath already sugar sweet with a slight burn of alcohol from the one too many cocktails been drinking. "You're _late."_

"Izuku," Todoroki greeted. "There was some paperwork I had to do regarding the…" he hesitated.

"The villain that was ten percent gloop, twenty percent gross, a hundred percent a sleazy piece of _shit,"_ Izuku elaborated, leaning into Todoroki's warm side, ignoring Todoroki's start at the use of a swear word. "God, I don't think there is enough alcohol in the _world_ to forget how that felt." He took a sip on the alarming shade of pink drink half empty in his hand.

"He was a bit…touchy feely," Todoroki relented, his cold hand tightening around the already frosty pint he'd bought himself before being spotted by Izuku. Unbidden, his eyes sketched out Izuku's profile, all the way down to his tight fitting jeans, and remembered what Izuku's bare legs looked like on the tinny screen of Bakugou's phone.

"Ever since the League of Villains incident, they all seem to beeline at me," Izuku moaned, head resting on Todoroki's shoulder. "They _alllll_ know who I – " Izuku cut himself off with an elated gasp, one hand slamming on the table and rocking it gently, a feat considering it was bolted to the floor, as he stood up abruptly, _"Kacchan!"_

Todoroki gripped tightly onto the table to stop it teetering, always a little wary of Izuku's strength when he hadn't the capacity to control it. His control had only gotten finer and over the years, but, almost like All Might himself, excitement (and inebriation) always left Izuku toeing the line.

Bakugou grunted, throwing an arm out into a nearby counter as Izuku's entire body slammed into his, his other hand steadying on Izuku's shoulder

"Deku," Bakugou snapped. "Watch where you're fucking going."

"I didn't know you came here!" Izuku replied instead, smile splitting his face, leaning into Bakugou's space.

Bakugou chose _not_ to admit that he'd dropped into every bar within walking distance of Izuku's apartment, Izuku's workplaces, Todoroki's apartment and Todoroki's workplace. He'd already stormed into and left four establishments, ready to leave this one before he'd been nearly successfully tackled.

"Yes," Todoroki said icily from behind Izuku's shoulder. "Neither did I, considering Izuku and I have been frequenting here for the past seven months."

"Felt like a drink tonight," Bakugou snipped back, hand lifting from the counter to catch Izuku's elbow as Izuku stumbled. Izuku also reached out to grab the counter as Bakugou had done before. Instead, he put a hole straight through it and faceplanted into Bakugou's shoulder.

"Oh _nooooo_ ," Izuku deadpanned in a near whisper, as if telling Bakugou's jacket a secret.

"How fucking drunk _are you?"_ Bakugou's voice was accusatory, but it was aimed at Todoroki.

"He got here before me," Todoroki replied tersely. "Said there wasn't enough drink in the world to deal with the leftovers of the 'Reconstitution Villain'."

"The _what."_ It was a statement, not a question.

"He was _disgusting,"_ Izuku said with surprising vitriol given his state. "All talky words and touchy touches."

"Disgusting," Todoroki echoed with equal malice and downed his pint in what must have been three of four even gulps.

"Touchy touches?" Bakugou asked, voice going soft and dangerous.

Todoroki made direct eye contact and said, "If murder was legal that man-thing would not be in a prison cell. It would be in a grave."

Bakugou went quiet.

"Oi, Deku."

Izuku's head swayed up from Bakugou's shoulder, body wobbling but eyes almost lively and sober.

"What you drinking?"

Izuku took a delayed sip of his drink.

"Pink Poodle. Mimi calls it Pink Poodle." Izuku pointed across the bar towards an older, sharp looking woman who was cleaning a glass with energy, eyes narrowed at them. At Izuku's attention she nodded her head up, and he raised his glass to her with a grin.

"Then let's get you another Pink fucking Poodle," Bakugou replied, and dared Todoroki to complain.

Later on, when Izuku had moved onto sipping water, wedged between Bakugou and Todoroki, Bakugou asked, "How the fuck did you get into those jeans, stitch them onto your fucking legs?"

"Let me tell you a secret, Kacchan," Izuku grinned secretively, trying to lower his voice to a whisper and failing. _"I'm not wearing any underwear."_

This time it was Bakugou's turn to set off a fire alarm.

* * *

Here's a proper interlude for you!


	16. Chapter 16

**32\. Ready, Set, Go**

Tensei looked up from the book he was reading at the mumbling and shuffling emanating from beyond his hospital door.

"Izuku, please." There was the characteristic, exasperated tone of his brother.

"I have to look _good,"_ was another, unfamiliar hissed voice. "It's Ingenium. It's _your brother."_

"We have established this," Iida's voice again. "You do not need to worry about proving yourself to someone who does not yet know you."

The door slid open and two bodies slipped in.

"Tenya," Tensei greeted cheerfully, ignoring the tight feeling in his chest at the sadness still in his brother's face, the worry at seeing Iida still swaddled in a hospital gown. His friend was dragging an IV line with him. "And…?"

"This is Izuku," Iida guided Izuku forward.

"I'm a big fan!" Izuku blurted out, nearly stumbling as he stepped forward eagerly, the IV stand teetering precariously.

"Careful," Iida murmured, and helped Izuku into a nearby chair.

"I'm not even hurt," Izuku admitted to Tensei, shuffling to the edge of the chair. "The IV line is because…" he hesitated, eyes dropping to his knees, before he looked up, with purpose.

"You can tell him, Izuku," Iida said, and Tensei was surprised to see his brother near trembling with excitement.

"I have been given temporary quirk permissions," Izuku said primly, tangling his fingers together.

"Oh, are you my wheelchair?" Tensei joked. "I get to be carried around instead of pushed. Could be fun."

"Um, not quite. Iida-san, if all goes well today, tomorrow, and however many days it takes, you will be walking out of here." Izuku's voice was quiet, but hard, his eyes dropping to Tensei's blanket covered legs.

"…what?" Tensei asked, and hoped his voice didn't crack. He could barely hear himself over the sound of his suddenly rushing heartbeat.

"I'm not sure if it'll heal your quirk, because that's something else _entirely_ but, I, uh, have two quirks. And the second one can help."

"It's a healing quirk, manifesting from his voice," Iida stepped in there. "It's an unusually strong one, because it uses Izuku's energy instead of others, hence the IV line. He…offered."

"Iida-kun was too shy, and demure to ask," Izuku said almost secretively. "He thinks it's for my own good."

"I can walk again?" Tensei felt numb, and Izuku smiled at him, soft and gentle.

"I'm going to try my best."

And he did.

Tensei needed a cane when he left that hospital, but he left on his own two feet. Three weeks later, the cane was forgotten. He was never able to use his quirk properly again, but he counted his blessings.

He was _incredibly_ proud and supportive of Tenya using Ingenium as his future hero name. If asked, he'd deny crying.

* * *

 **33\. This Is Pure Crack And I'm Not Sorry**

"Izuku has a video channel and it is pure gold," Uraraka declared as she dropped into the common room where most of Class 1-A were already, waiting for the movie night to start. She was with her laptop, dropping to her knees so she could attach it to the TV.

"Oh, really?" Sero asked curiously.

"Oh, no," Izuku offered in rebuttal, and sank into the armchair he'd claimed, wondering if it was too late to make a mad dash out of the room.

The TV flickered into life as Kirishima dropped onto the arm of Izuku's chair, a companionable arm around his neck.

"I reckon it's about All-Might," Tsuyu spoke up. "Right?"

The image on the TV wobbled, before the picture focused. The camera was on Bakugou and Kirshima in the hot springs, during a school trip.

Izuku's faint voice picked up then, the camera zooming in slowly as Izuku softly sang, _"Two bros, chilling in the hot springs, five feet apart cause they're not gay."_

And that was it. A moment of silence and then Bakugou, who was in the doorway at that moment, simply asked, "Deku, what the _fuck."_

Sero and Kaminari began laughing, almost hysterically even as Bakugou strode into the room to take a seat, ready to watch more.

"This next one is my favourite," Uraraka said delightedly, tapping at her laptop erratically.

The TV showed the back of Tokoyami as he strut down one of the dorm hallways.

" _Make them wait for it, Tokoyami,"_ came Izuku's voice.

Tokoyami stopped and shot a coy look over his shoulder, at the same time Izuku said, _"Boom."_

Kirishima broke, snorting so loud that it frightened Izuku, and he buried his face in his palm as he shook, voice trembling, "Midoriya, my man, what."

"Sometimes," Izuku said defensively, voice high and reedy. "I get _bored."_

Uraraka grinned up at him, "Its fine, Izuku. These are amazing!"

The next video took it's time to load, the buffering circle spinning slowly. The title of it was called 'Road Work'. Izuku sank into his chair, as low as he could dare without spilling onto the floor.

The shaky phone camera showed a road in front of the bonnet of a car, a sign saying 'Road Work Ahead' on the grassy verge to the side of the road. The camera then spun around to focus on All-Might, who was driving.

" _Road work ahead?"_ All-Might said, almost sounding distressed. _"I sure hope so!"_

"All-Might I'm so sorry," Izuku said to his hands, burning face hidden.

The laptop and TV automatically rolled on into the next video. It featured Izuku sat at his desk, fingers gripped around a pen.

" _Hey, you alright?"_ came Todoroki's voice. The clock on the wall showed three-oh-six. Considering they were normally in class at that time, it could only be early in the morning.

" _Thanks for checking in, but, I'm still a piece of garbage,"_ Izuku sang back dully and the camera shook as Todoroki presumably nearly dropped it.

"I remember that," Todoroki spoke up for the first time. "It was when we had to do that short daily life video. Kouda came to get me, because Izuku was fretting over _quirk mutations_ and we weren't even working on that topic."

"I just…" Izuku shrugged loosely. "I needed to write it down before it left. It was back when I was like, sleeping bad."

"Oh," Tokoyami suddenly spoke up. "If these are playing in order, I know which one is next."

Uraraka resumed playing, and Izuku squirmed as concerned gazes returned to the TV.

"Hey man," Kirishima murmured to Izuku's hair. "You're not a piece of garbage, a'ight?"

"Thanks," Izuku whispered back.

The next video showed a zoom in of Dark Shadow's face, before Izuku fumbled and got it to zoom out.

" _Uh, lemme smash,"_ Dark Shadow suddenly said, monotone. _"Deku, lemme smash."_

There was muffled giggle from beyond the camera.

" _I got you blue, you like blue. You want some tail? Swiggity swooty."_ Dark Shadow's clawed hand swept up, and he was indeed holding something blue – it looked like somebody's sport uniform.

The Izuku holding the camera lost it then, the vision swinging down to his feet, the video shaking as Izuku wheezed in laughter. As it had swung down, it had caught Tokoyami's almost triumphant looking expression at making Izuku laugh.

"Oh, Uraraka," Izuku said desperately over the sound of giggles. "You don't need to play the next one." He moved to stand.

"No," Bakugou grinned. "Play it." He had his hand outstretched in Izuku's direction, ready to shove him down if he tried to get up, relishing in Izuku's distress.

The video just showed the communal kitchen, a counter with something blurry, the fridge, part of the oven. All of a sudden the camera panned onto Izuku on the counter, and he leapt down, landed in a crouch, made direct eye contact with the camera and declared, _"I'm gay!"_

"Who – who filmed that?" Kirishima asked through his laughter.

"Umm…" Izuku fiddled with his fingers. "I'd just finished shopping with, uh, with…" and in a rush, he whispered, _"Aizawa-sensei."_

"What?!" Jirou shrieked, the best equipped to hear that. "Aizawa-sensei?!"

Izuku buried his head in his hands again, and amongst the pandemonium, nobody heard Ojiro say, "Is no one going to ask why Dark Shadow wants to smash?"

* * *

I'm really not sorry.


	17. Chapter 17

**34\. Ponytails**

"Alright, listen up," Aizawa called across the classroom. "This is important."

"Is it about exams?" Yaoyorozu asked quickly, hand shooting into the air.

"No, not yet. This is about Izuku." Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need to make sure the lot of you aren't going to be a bunch of brats about this but…bring him in," he told the door.

Toshinori, bulked up as All-Might entered the classroom, hand on the shoulder of an embarrassed, demure looking young girl. She was wearing trousers that fit almost too loose around her waist.

"A transfer?" Kaminari asked, excited.

"A _cute_ transfer?" Kirishima asked immediately afterwards.

"No." Aizawa's tone was blunt and matter of fact. "While visiting his mother this weekend, Izuku had an unfortunate encounter while saving a small girl from being hit by a car. Her Quirk involves short term gender reassignment."

"Good morning," the girl said, talking to her shoes. "Sorry for the inconvenience everybody."

"That's _Deku?!"_ Bakugou yelled, hands slamming down on the desk as he stood.

"Good morning Kacchan," the girl, Izuku, said miserably. "This was why I couldn't take the train with you this morning."

"Izuku was hit with the Quirk yesterday morning, and reports from the girl's mother and her quirk professional says that it can last anywhere from twenty seven to fifty two hours. I expect you all to show Izuku the same amount of respect as before."

"Please take care of me," Izuku bowed deeply, and spluttered when long hair whipped him in the face at the abrupt movement.

* * *

The first hurdle came during hero training that afternoon, Izuku dithering in the corridor that split into the two changing rooms, male and female.

"Just come in here, Izuku," Uraraka waved a hand at him. "You're a girl for now, right?"

"It wouldn't be fair on all of you," Izuku flustered, cheeks burning a bright red as he fiddled with his mass of hair, easier to meddle with now that it was longer and spilled over his shoulder. "Because I'll be a guy again soon. But I can't…change in front of everyone else because…"

"Ah," Uraraka said sympathetically, her eyes briefly dropping to Izuku's new, and generous assets.

"I'll wait!" Izuku said firmly. "Until both groups are done, and then change afterwards. That way it won't be awkward for anybody."

"Sounds like a good idea!" Urakaka agreed. "I'll see you out there, Izuku!"

* * *

The second hurdle came when Izuku actually stepped onto the training grounds and it was soon found out that while his sports uniform was already snug as male, it was even worse when he was now a she.

His lovely mother, the day of the incident, had grabbed him some female necessities – mostly bras – but not one of the sports variety.

Izuku nervously shuffled as Mineta dropped his water bottle he was so distracted, and Izuku focused on trying to get the volume of hair out of his face for once on this awful day.

"Here," Yaoyozuru suddenly approached, sounding almost pitiful for his plight. "I have a hair tie. It'll be easier to see if you have your hair up."

"I can't get over the complete fuckery that is this bullshit," Bakugou muttered angrily in the background as he watched Yaoyozuru carefully help Izuku get his hair into a snug ponytail.

"Izuku is cute like this, though, huh?" Kaminari mumbled absently, and got a hot, nearly explosive punch to the side courtesy of Bakugou.

"Izuku is _always_ cute," Uraraka decided firmly. "Besides, he is not going to be like this for much longer."

"He looks like his mum," Bakugou looked mildly constipated and trying not to get caught out staring. "I mean he did before but…ugh… _shitty Deku!"_

Izuku whipped around, startled, and smacked Yaoyozuru and a close by Tsuyu with his ponytail.

"Kacchan?!" he yelped, blushing again at the new pitch of his voice "Is something wrong?"

Bakugou turned red himself and spluttered, fisted hands crackling with sparks.

"Shut up!" Bakugou barked angrily and stormed off, a hysterically laughing Kirishima at his shoulder.

Todoroki approached then, Izuku once again tugging at his hair.

"Would you like to pair up today, Midoriya?" he asked cordially, in lieu of a greeting. He was gifted a timid, almost tired smile.

"Are you sure, Todoroki-kun? I might be a liability because…" Izuku glanced down at himself, unsure how to say out loud that his chest was going to be an issue.

"We can just see how it goes. Nothing dangerous is going to happen, I'm sure."

Izuku dithered and then beamed up at Todoroki, feeling slightly askew at the even bigger height difference, his diminutive height even less than before.

"Then, yes please Todoroki-kun!"

Todoroki very, _very_ gently set the grass on fire.

* * *

"How long does it take him to fucking change," Bakugou grumbled, pacing the hallway in front of the changing rooms.

"Don't forget he had to wait for us to dress first," Iida chided. "Izuku is being more accommodating of his condition than we are right now!"

"Iida is right," Todoroki said shortly. "If you don't want to wait, then leave."

" _Why you –"_ Bakugou began to snarl, and was interrupted by a clatter and yelp from the women's changing room, the one Izuku had chosen when the other's had finished dressing in prior to the afternoon lessons.

"Izuku?" Uraraka called through, stepping forward anxiously. "Is everything okay?"

There was another clatter and the door to the women's room banged open so violently it nearly tore free from the top hinge.

"I'm back to normal!" Izuku said, cheerfully and happily from the doorway. In his enthusiasm, he'd made it to the door in no more than a bra and underwear, a pair of low sitting boxers. The bra was a strange fit, when he no longer had anything to support it, and it hung slack over his chest.

"Get some fucking _clothes_ on!" Bakugou's voice was nearly a shriek as he shoved at Izuku's shoulder, trying not to get caught out staring at the abs on show because when the fuck had Izuku gotten so ripped?

And faintly, Todoroki simply said, "Oh my god."

* * *

 **35\. Grown Up Talk**

"Soooo," Tensei said, dragging out the syllable and grinning at the tick it caused in his brother's forehead. "That kid that helped me, Izuku was it?"

"What about him?" Iida asked, almost snippily, his focus on the homework in front of him.

"Is he your secret boyfriend?"

" _Tensei!"_ Iida yelped, twisting in his chair so fast Tensei was worried he might have pulled something,

"Oh ho, am I right?" Tensei laughed, almost victorious. "You were looking after him so carefully every time he came to heal me, I _knew_ something was up!"

Iida was blushing to nearly the tips of his ears, fumbling uselessly with his pen and hands.

"I care for Izuku, _deeply_ , yes," he began, "But that doesn't mean he…that I…that we're _dating._ It is simply one friend looking after another!"

"Ohhhh?" Tensei dragged out yet another syllable that set Iida twitching again, this time in nervousness at the impending words. "Just friends? Are you sure?"

"Tensei," Iida said then, curtly, almost shakily. "I…don't want to pursue this current direction of conversation. I…it is confusing."

"Tenya, buddy," Tensei immediately softened his voice, resting a hand on Iida's shoulder, mostly in support, and in order to lean his weight off of weaker leg. "If you like guys, I'm not going to say anything. Mum, dad, they won't say anything. They just want you happy."

"I know." Iida stared down at his homework. "This essay needs to be finished tonight. Could…could I please have some peace?"

"Hey, sure. I didn't mean to put you on the spot, I just…" Tensei grimaced. "I'm sorry if I've overstepped, alright? Don't take anything to heart. I'm here if you need to talk though."

"I know," Iida repeated softly. "But if I do need to talk, I'll let you know."

Tensei ruffled Iida's hair, gaining an indignant yelp before he limped his way out of the bedroom, deep in thought.

* * *

 **36\. A Human Cannonball and his Human Cannon**

"Izuku," Aizawa said slowly, trying not to convey the worry through his words. "Where is Kirishima? Wasn't he your training partner?"

Izuku smiled brightly and replied, "You might want to take a few steps back, Aizawa-sensei. We don't know how big the impact crater is going to be."

"The _impact crater?"_

"Kirishima's Quirk makes his skin tougher than _anything._ So he asked me to turn him into a cannonball."

"A _what?!"_ Aizawa's tone was snappy, but with the worry that he'd managed to squash before. "Where is KIrishima?"

Izuku shaded his eyes against the sun and pointed directly up.

With a vague feeling of dread, Aizawa looked up. There was a rapidly growing speck hurtling towards them.

"Might want to step back," Izuku advised again, grabbing him gently by the sleeve and tugging. Aizawa went with him.

"How did he get up there," Aizawa asked, tone of voice flat.

"I pretended he was a shotput, and aimed up," Izuku said cheerfully. "I only used the eight-percent available to me, don't worry."

"And he went that far?"

"Oh, Kirishima pushed off at the point I threw. It was a joint effort." Izuku flinched despite expecting the crash of Kirishima's hardened body slamming into the floor.

The crater it left behind was the size of a large family sized car and for a second, there was nothing but dust. Then Kirishima was clambering out of the hole with a loud whoop, throwing his fist in the air in delight.

"That was _awesome!"_

"If you _ever_ do this again, it's detention for the both of you," Aizawa hissed at Izuku and then stalked off, muttering about idiotic students and early onset heart attacks.

* * *

This is going to count for all of my stories, not just this one, but if you want updates on how far I am in things, or if I'm starting new things, I now have a blog! It is:

fruitpastillesposts!tumblr!com

Please obviously substitute the ! for .

Also, there is plenty of room for crack like the previous chapter, so let me know how soon you want to see more of the same!


	18. Chapter 18

**37\. Know Your Limits**

"Izuku, my dear boy, we need to talk," All-Might said softly, Izuku's attention before he entered the classroom. "Hizashi knows you will be a little late."

Izuku glanced up at him nervously, unsure of the anxious look adorning All-Might's face, the hero shuffling in front of him and quietly greeting students as they greeted him.

"Sure…" Izuku replied after a moment's thought, and when Iida offered, he allowed his classmate to take his bag from him, with the promise it would be left at his desk.

All-Might gestured, and Izuku fell into step beside him as they walked down the now empty corridors, classes slowly beginning their sessions. Present Mic's voice was already booming out behind them, before the door shut and his words became muffled.

All-Might led him down several hallways before ushering him into the staff office, empty except for Aizawa and Chiyo.

"Am I in trouble?" Izuku blurted immediately, unsure of the audience they had.

"No, no, not at all, it's just…" All-Might sighed, and with a rush of steam he sunk into a chair, haggard and tired looking once again. "There is something you need to know."

"Take a seat," Chiyo offered kindly, pushing one gently towards him, and Izuku slowly lowered himself onto the edge of it, tense and a little alarmed.

"I hardly know how to explain it but…" Toshinori simply untucked his shirt and rolled it away from his skin. Izuku grit his teeth in preparation of seeing the grim scar again, a plate sized starburst of red, wrinkled skin.

Instead, it was hardly the size of his hand, and something like realisation twisted in his gut.

"We did some tests," Chiyo butt in. "When Yagi noticed that he could hold his power for longer times and less repercussions. Some quick exploratory surgeries with the endoscope and, well. Prolonged exposure to you has done him a world of good. The small parts of stomach and fragments of lung have gained some very liver-like qualities."

"Liver-like?" Izuku asked, unable to take his eyes away from the blemish that was once all encompassing and now looked as if he could cover it with his palm.

"The liver is versatile. Take a piece away, it grows it back. Yagi's lung and stomach are doing something similar. In the future, there may have to be a little surgery in order to make sure everything is connecting properly, but your passive humming around him, the singing when he's in the same room…"

"Is making him better," Izuku breathed, and looked up to Toshinori's face.

"However," Aizawa interrupted then, standing from his slouch against the wall. "This is not a reason, nor an excuse to try and heal Yagi unprovoked, or in private sessions."

"But if I can help - !"

"We all know you'd push yourself," Aizawa retorted quickly. "And then we'd lose one in exchange for another, and nobody here wants that. You've yet to know your limits."

"Izuku," Toshinori spoke softly. "I am more grateful than words can express, that my limited life may not be as short as I imagined, but you listen to me now, and you listen well. If I even _suspect_ you are purposefully attempting to heal me, then I will retire as a teacher from this school, and we will no longer be able to meet unsupervised." By the end of his speech his voice was sharper, surer, and Izuku slumped back from where he'd sat forward, staring at his scarred hands.

"But – " he began in quiet protest.

"You've already given me more of a life than I could have hoped for," Toshinori leaned forward to pat Izuku's knee. "But that doesn't mean you need to give me yours."

"…you really have more time?" Izuku finally asked, looking up. He was greeted with a firm smile.

"Two and a half hours more," Toshinori confirmed, squeezing Izuku's knee gently.

"What does this mean for One For All?"

"Well, that's the beauty of it." Toshinori leaned back, grin wide on his face. "It's 'One For All' after all. Whether one person has it, or two, it'll still do as it's meant to do."

"You can still be All-Might," Izuku whispered. "You can still help people."

"I can. Because of you. You're _my_ hero."

And Izuku burst into surprised tears at that admission from his idol, even as Aizawa muttered, "how cheesy," in the background.

* * *

 **38\. Caretakers (Of the Best Kind)**

"...uku. Izuku, it's time to wake up."

Izuku opened his eyes groggily to the soft prodding of someone's quiet voice, a gentle hand on his cheek. His other cheek was pressed to something firm and warm.

"I'm sorry for waking you up," Uraraka looked contrite, and a little sad, her hand still pressed to Izuku's cheek. "But we don't know where your room key is, and Kouda isn't back yet."

"Where…?" Izuku asked with a half broken yawn.

"You fell asleep in the library," his warm pillow told him with a rumble, and hands under his knees lifted him higher, a little firmer. "So we thought we should let you sleep, until faced with the problem of your locked door."

Ah. His pillow was Iida. Izuku dozed off for a bit then, but Uraraka's hand gently patted his cheek.

"Your key, Izuku?"

"Oh…" Izuku sighed. "My bag?"

"Don't worry, we have it."

"No…not that." Izuku turned his head slightly, forehead pressed to a shoulderblade as he yawned again. "In my bag. The key."

There was the soft sound of rummaging that Izuku slowly crept off into sleep to. He jolted awake again at the feeling of someone taking off his shoes from where he was curled on the bed, the covers already drawn back.

"Oh…oh, I can't sleep," Izuku mumbled, but couldn't find it in him to lift his head. "I'll miss dinner."

"Don't worry." Iida drew the covers up and over Izuku's shoulders. "The latest they serve food is eight. Uraraka and I will remain here and make sure to wake you if you don't get up before then."

Izuku caught Iida's hand as the quilt was tucked up around his neck, and Iida faltered.

"Thank you," Izuku told him, sincerely, even as exhaustion tugged at his eyelids. "And I'm sorry for falling asleep."

"Don't be silly," Iida's voice softened even as he gently gave Izuku his hand back, finishing the meticulous task of tucking Izuku securely in. "If you need to rest, you rest. We won't begrudge you that, with all you go through for our sake. Sleep well. Don't worry, we will be here if you need us."

Izuku gave him a bleary smile, before tucking his chin down, his smile gentling as Uraraka reached to pet his head soothingly. Within seconds he was back asleep, the gentle lift and fall of his chest slowing down as he dozed.

"Ugh," Uraraka whispered, lifting her hand from Izuku's head. "How can he be so cute."

"I don't know," Iida replied, voice equally as quiet. "But it is quite something."

* * *

 **39\. A Handful Of Treats**

"Good morning," Izuku greeted cheerfully as Tokoyami stumbled into the kitchen at a little after six in the morning. The heavy scent of sugar and chocolate was permeating the room, a near physical wall of smell.

"…morning," Tokoyami said, almost suspiciously. He eyed the boxes upon boxes of baked confectionaries lining the counters. "Are you okay?"

Izuku pulled the most recent tray out of the oven and frowned thoughtfully as he set it on the rack to cool.

"Um…maybe. I couldn't sleep so…" he gestured uselessly to the kitchen.

"How long have you been awake for?" Tokoyami peered into the nearest box and found cookies.

"Since, um, about two," Izuku admitted. "But I wasn't alone, and Sato-kun helped me for a bit! He was cramming for the exam that Midnight said we have after the weekend, so he helped me for a bit when he got bored of the questions."

"When did he leave?"

"Oh, only about an hour and a bit ago," Izuku started to fill the kitchen sink with hot water. "How come you're awake?"

Tokoyami shrugged and shuffled to the coffee maker, setting it to pour into his chosen cup. The crackles and pops it made were almost comforting.

"Suns up, I'm up. If you make a joke about me being a bird with the sunrise, or an early bird, I'll stab you with my mug."

Izuku laughed brightly at that, dumping his baking utensils into the rapidly filling sink.

"You're the one that said it!" he retorted, scrubbing at the mixing bowl with a singlemindedness and determination that had Tokoyami asking, once again, "Are you okay?"

"Um," Izuku wobbled at that one, hands pausing as he pursed his lips together. His shoulders were faintly trembling. "I still, um…sleeping is difficult sometimes. Especially since, um, at the mall. The other day." One of his wet hands lifted compulsively to his throat, spreading bubbles and suds against his skin.

"You need to talk?"

"I told the authorities," Izuku replied in a mumble, staring into his sink.

"That's not what I asked."

"Well then." Izuku started scrubbing again. "Maybe not today."

"Very well." Tokoyami grabbed his full mug. "Leave that though. Someone else can clean it. Can you keep me company?"

Izuku tilted his head in question and Tokoyami nodded his own head to the doorway that led into the living room.

"You can tell me what you made. Let me know if there's any with oatmeal. Or peanut butter. I need to know if I need to hide any of those boxes from the others for myself."

Izuku set the bowl aside to dry on the drying rack and grabbed the dish towel to dry his hands, with a mumbled, "Sure."

Tokoyami watched patiently as Izuku boxed up the most recent batch that he'd set to cooling earlier, and then he let Izuku go ahead to the living room first, watching briefly from the doorway as Izuku tucked himself up into the corner of one of the couches.

Something roiled in him, angry and twisted at seeing Izuku trying to make himself so small, so defensive.

Setting his drink on the coffee table, he sat down on the opposite end of the couch.

"So, what did you bake?"

Izuku seemed startled that that was all Tokoyami wanted to know, as if he expected some sort of interrogation for his behaviour. The angry thing curled in him again, and Tokoyami couldn't tell if it was him, or Dark Shadow.

But Izuku was obviously and immensely grateful for the honest question, and quickly hurried into a comprehensive list of what he'd made, what order he'd made them and, in his opinion, which ones came out best.

There were oatmeal cookies, but no peanut butter. Tokoyami managed to wrangle a promise from Izuku to make some next time the urge to bake hit him in the early hours of the morning.

That was how the other dorm members found them several hours later, all of them having slept in on the day they all had off.

Izuku was leaning into Tokoyami, his sleeping face nearly hid by the ruffle of feathers, and Tokoyami with an arm companionably resting around his slim shoulders as he read a book he'd pinched from the coffee table shelf.

Nobody missed Bakugou's, _"What the FUCK!"_ at seeing the countertops full of baked goods. Izuku blissfully slept through it all.

* * *

Some things come easier than others. Updating this is proof of that lmao. There was going to be one more section, involving Shinshou, but this is already about the right number of words I usually write per chapter.

A reviewer, **The Keeper Of Worlds** , asked if I was open to suggestions and the answer is – absolutely! Anything you want to see, let me know, and I'll try my best to tag you if I use your prompts.

Hope you enjoyed this one!


	19. Chapter 19

**40\. A Serious Dispute**

Aizawa slammed a file at his table in the staff office.

Nearly every head popped up nervously, ready for the rant that he was already gearing up to.

"I didn't understand why people care so much about some dumb students, until I got one myself," Aizawa admitted irritably. "I've only known Izuku for a month and a half, but if anything happened to him I'd kill everyone in the school and then myself."

"Um, excuse me," Yamada retorted, almost sassily. "Izuku is _my_ dumb student. We all know he likes me better."

Aizawa tilted his head eerily, making direct eye contact.

"Excuse me," he whispered.

"Oh man, Hizashi," somebody muttered. "You're _dead."_

"Hello! It is me coming through the door, after hearing the conversation!" All-Might declared, near slamming open the door. "If Izuku likes _anyone_ the best it's me!" and in a quieter, more serious voice, "anybody who wants to dispute this, training grounds in ten minutes, I will _whoop_ _your ass_."

Aizawa stood up and hissed, "He's _mine."_

And then, from the doorway, a bewildered, flustered, "Um, A-All-Might-sensei?"

All-Might suddenly blushed, having immediately forgotten that his class, _Izuku included_ had been following him to their outside lessons, that eager to prove his worth to the other teachers.

"I am leaving now!" All-Might said quickly, loudly. "Like a normal person!" and then he slammed the door shut again, the hushed, murmured voices from behind the door sounding suspiciously like a happily emotional Izuku and calming All-Might.

"That boy is too much," Ishiyama said with feeling.

"Oh my god, I know," Ectoplasm sighed. "He'll be the death of one us."

"The little shit would sing you back to life," Aizawa muttered irritably and then sat back down.

* * *

 **41\. Protective Tendency**

"So we have a problem," Aizawa said shortly, to Toshinori. "And that problem is, your successor is too much like you."

"What do you mean?" Toshinori asked, watching Aizawa suspiciously.

"He got excited during a lesson today, trying to answer a question," Aizawa said slowly. "And broke his damn desk on the way up. His Quirk did what you do, when you get excited and pop up like a balloon full of helium."

Toshinori placed a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his smile.

"I'm pretty sure he also pushes himself too much," Aizawa added. "Because he immediately burst into tears afterwards, and apologised because he was tired. I think he's training too hard." _Like you,_ was unsaid.

"Oh." Toshinori stopped smiling then. "No, it's not because he's pushing himself. He's been having nightmares recently. The Villain Alliance, the incident at the mall."

"If I get my hands on that Shigaraki again, I'll throttle him," Aizawa muttered. "Disintegration Quirk or not."

Toshinori nodded sagely.

"However!" Aizawa smirked. "I'm counting on you to pay for damages. I wouldn't want to lump Izuku's poor, _poor_ mother with the bill."

"Shouta, the school covers classroom damage."

"I need recompense for seeing Izuku cry," Aizawa simply replied, and Toshinori tried to remember what Izuku looked like when he cried. Ah. Yes. Not nice.

"…understandable," Toshinori acquiesced. "It is pretty, uh, heartbreaking, I'll agree."

"He looks like someone murdered his puppy when he cries," Aizawa sneered. "It's awful. It makes my heart do weird things. Ugh. Damn boy."

"Ah, yes, the wonderful feeling of love," Toshinori said, hand over his heart, and yelped when Aizawa pelted a book straight at his head.

* * *

 **42\. Never Stood A Chance**

"Shinshou-kun…?" Izuku asked softly, watching as Shinshou jumped and stepped back from the tree he was staring up at.

"Ah. Midoriya," Shinshou greeted quietly. "It's good to see you." His eyes dropped to Izuku's bare, scarred arm, and something in his face shuttered.

"It's good to see you too. Is everything okay?"

Shinshou looked up at the tree again. Izuku followed his gaze, and understanding bloomed across his face.

"Is he your cat?"

"No. I just spotted him there. I'm not sure I can get him down. My climbing abilities aren't…the best."

Izuku stepped up alongside Shinshou, looking closely at the cat trapped high in the branches and holding on tight.

"I'll get him," Izuku said then, definitively, patting Shinshou's shoulder gently. "You're a good guy. I wouldn't have even noticed he was up there if you weren't here!"

Dropping into a crouch, Izuku narrowed his eyes, eyeing up the closest branch and trying to calculate the distance in his head. He hadn't even noticed the flustered look on Shinshou's face at the compliment.

Then, channelling One For All, he leapt up and grabbed onto the closest branch, swinging for a brief second before pulling himself up.

"Please be careful," Shinshou muttered, hushed.

Izuku clambered up like a monkey, carefully and precisely, until he was hunkered down on the same branch as the tucked up, bristly cat, one leg either side of the branch.

"Hey there," Izuku murmured, voice soft and gentle. "I've got you." He reached out, palm up, fingers outstretched. His first two attempts resulted in scratched skin and slightly bloody knuckles, but eventually, and regretfully, he caught the cat by his scruff and dropped to the floor without a second thought.

"Midoriya!" Shinshou yelped as he dropped from the branch.

Izuku landed in a crouch, spitting, hissing cat in his hand.

"Yeah?" he asked breathlessly, wincing as the cat dug in another claw.

Shinshou pressed a hand to his face, almost exasperated looking.

"You fell. I thought…"

"Oh. Oh, I didn't mean to worry you!" Izuku yelped and dropped the cat as teeth sunk in deep, drawing blood from the meat of his thumb. The cat shot off, fluffed up to twice its size.

"It wasn't hurt," Izuku offered, as it ran off, watching as it ran away.

"You are. Come with me. I'll help patch you up."

"Oh, Shinshou-kun, I couldn't impose," Izuku shook his head, waving his hands in front of his face as if to say it was okay and just waving the wounds in front of Shinshou. "I'll be fine. I'll sort myself out."

"Izuku," Shinshou suddenly said, and the abrupt use of his name had Izuku looking up with a startled, "Yes?"

" _Follow me,"_ Shinshou said firmly, and instead of the betrayal he expected in Izuku's face at the blatant use of his Quirk, there was amusement and fondness instead. But he tried not to read into it as he strode off and Izuku obediently followed, even though he'd shown his ability to get free at the Sport's Festival.

* * *

"You didn't have to help," Izuku said afterwards, when Shinshou had let the finicky control of his Quirk loose, too invested and concentrating on the bandages he was wrapping around Izuku's damaged fingers.

"And neither did you," Shinshou offered in rebuttal. "You saw me, a cat in a tree, and could have left. The cat would have gotten down eventually."

"You were worried for him though. So I felt like I had to help." Izuku watched closely as Shinshou dabbed antiseptic gently into the bite mark.

"I like cats," Shinshou said defensively, and went quiet. They were sat in Shinshou's dorm room on his bed, a single. He'd dug the First-Aid kit out from one of his cupboards.

Eventually, Izuku mumbled, "You're good at this."

Shinshou's smile was bitter, tight across his face.

"I've had a lot of practice." He placed the last plaster over the puncture wounds, and let go of Izuku's hand.

Izuku laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound.

"Maybe I should have learned. I was, uh, bullied a lot when I was younger," Izuku's voice was quiet as he admitted this, and he was watching his hands, clasped in his lap now. "My Quirk, the strengthening one, it didn't show until a few months before the entrance exam. I'd applied anyway, because I wanted to be a hero no matter what, but…when I was younger, Quirkless wasn't just a label, it was an insult, an excuse."

"You all okay now?" Shinshou asked carefully, feeling something twist in his stomach at the vulnerable expression on Izuku's face. It was not a good luck for a face normally vibrant, and full of life.

Izuku lit up then, a grin crossing his face. "Yeah! I've got plenty of friends, nobody tries to push me, or call me names anymore. I've got people to look out for, and people looking out for me, like you, Shinshou-kun."

"Li-Like me?" Shinshou stuttered, bewildered. "But I – "

"We _are_ friends, right?" Izuku asked with a coy tilt to his head. "I mean, that's why you wanted to help right? Or, or, have I overstepped my boundaries?" his expression turned alarmed, worried. "I'm sorry!"

"No, it's, uh," Shinshou's voice cracked, and he quickly lifted a hand to his cheek, as if prepared to scrub away the tears that he could feel threatening to spill. "I didn't know you thought of me, like that."

"Of course I did! You're such a good guy, Shinshou-kun, even if other people can't see it!" Izuku flapped his hands nervously on his thighs, before asking, carefully, "Can I, um, can I hug you? You look upset and I – oof!"

The breath was knocked out of him as Shinshou barely hesitated, just a moment's thought before he was slumping into Izuku's side, one hand grasping at his slightly tattered shirt, the edges of it mucky and torn from his impromptu tree climb.

Izuku was not hesitant at all, wrapping Shinshou up in a tight hug.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late!" Izuku breezed into the common room, already set up for their infrequent movie night. Due to his bad sleeping and taunting nightmares, movie night also coincided with sleepover night, all of the furniture pushed up into the wall and blankets, quilts and pillows spread wildly into the room like some sort of nest.

Directly behind him, connected by their hands, was Shinshou.

"I had to get Shinshou-kun," Izuku declared brightly. "Because he's going to start joining us now, okay?"

Shinshou was clearly embarrassed and put out, staring at the carpet even with his white-knuckled grip on Izuku's hand.

There was a very long silence, before Ojiro was shuffling over and patting the space next to him.

"You guys can sit here! I made sure to bring your duvet and stuff through, Midoriya. All-Might, huh?"

"Always," Izuku said seriously, and dragged Shinshou over to the space left behind, settling in comfortably and letting Shinshou find a comfortable spot next to him. The silence was broken then, bodies closing in around them, a quiet argument over which movie to put in, somebody shrieking quietly at spilt snacks.

"You okay?" Izuku whispered to Shinshou as somebody turned off the lights, the opening sequence to the chosen movie brightening the room suddenly and loudly.

"Is it okay for me to be here?" Shinshou replied nervously, hand nervously squeezing Izuku's.

Ojiro leaned around Izuku.

"I mean, you're here, aren't you?" he whispered, aware that attention was on them and not the movie. "If you weren't wanted, you wouldn't be, right?"

"He's right," Uraraka suddenly interrupted, leaning over Jirou to be heard. "I'm glad you're here, Shinshou-kun! Izuku's said a lot about you. All nice things, don't worry!"

Kouda, on Shinshou's other side, simply murmured, "…cat."

"Yeah." Uraraka beamed. "Izuku told us we shouldn't let fear, or prejudice from the Sport's Festival define us, because one day we'll be working side by side together."

"As sweet as this is," Bakugou began, almost calm. "Will everybody _shut the fuck up?!_ You're not ruining this for me, fuckers! This is one of my favourite movies!"

And after that, there was some jostling, some mumbling, and finally quiet, Shinshou finally managing to relax into the pile of comfort he was sequestered in.

Izuku kept a calm, quiet hold of his hand the entire time.

It was nice.

(Two days later, Shinshou cornered Bakugou with a simple comment of, "I heard you used to bully Midoriya."

Neither of them spoke of what happened between the two of them, but for a very long time, Bakugou refused to look at Shinshou.)

* * *

Next chapter is an interlude. Please, throw your ideas for an AU at me.


	20. Chapter 20

**Alternate Universe 4: Sticks And Stones**

Izuku was what many doctors called an exception. While he had the toe joint, his Quirk didn't manifest at four years old. Or at five. Or at six. Or at seven, eight, nine. By that point, he had accepted, with a heavy heart, that he just wouldn't have one. The brand Quirkless had been given by his narrowminded peers many years before, the day he went to the visit the doctor and his Quirk didn't show.

But he smiled for his mother, lied and said he was okay with it, he was a growing boy now and knew that there were hundreds, thousands of career paths where he didn't need to be a hero.

He turned ten.

* * *

"Come on Izu-kun," Inko laughed, dropping a plate onto the table as she set it. "You love this song." To encourage him, she hummed a few lines.

"Oh, but mum," Izuku pressed his hands to his cheeks, trying not to get embarrassed when it was just him and his mum.

"If you don't sing along you won't get cake!" Inko warned him cheerfully, setting the cutlery down which Izuku carefully arranged properly.

"It's my birthday, I should be the one making demands!" Izuku couldn't help but giggle then, even as he straightened up a spoon. "But because you asked nicely!" he looked up with a shy smile.

Inko cupped her hand around her ear, earning another laugh before Izuku was clearing his throat and singing a few, warbling lines that gained in strength as Inko joined back in.

Inko was only reaching the end of the verse she'd joined in for when she felt it, a tightness in her stomach that bloomed suddenly into a sharp, sharp pain that had her crumpling to her knees with a small gasp and an unwanted, frightful mouthful of blood.

Izuku was old enough, smart enough to grab the phone to call emergency services through hiccupping sobs and fright.

In the emergency room, hours past his birthday and well into the next morning, Izuku was told by a kind nurse how his mum had a few ruptured blood vessels, had she perhaps fallen over, or had an accident – and Izuku could only tell them they were setting up for his tenth birthday.

For the next week and a half, he was forced to stay at his elderly neighbour's as his mother recovered from examinations and surgeries to both determine what caused the damage, and to repair.

A month later, when the scare was done and passed, it happened again. This time, they could pinpoint the cause.

* * *

"I'm sure you all know this song, but this is the one this class will be singing for the cultural festival," the teacher said dully as he handed out neatly printed sheets.

Izuku looked over it, reading quietly through the words.

"You'll be singing it as a group, no solos, no split groups. On my word…begin," the teacher called, and the room filled with the voices of the children.

They all dropped one by one, frighteningly quick, and Izuku wasn't even singing any longer as his classmates slumped and cried and fell from their chairs around him, his teacher leaning heavily on his desk for support.

Izuku stayed stock still in his seat, making brief eye contact with Bakugou, even as his friend-turned-bully vomited and passed out.

Through it all, the confusion, fear, fright, Izuku felt strangely revitalised, like his very body was buzzing with energy.

On paper, it was an Energy Stealing Quirk. Nobody was willing to risk asking Izuku to sing to see what it _really_ did, and when asked if he was okay, he was prompted to say that yes, he was fine, even felt a little perky when it had all been said done. Nobody said out loud that he could very much easily kill a person, though the unspoken words hung heavy.

Izuku held his mother's hand tightly and wondered what actually happened to her because of him after all.

But from then on, he made a resolution. He had no Quirk. He wouldn't sing – not at home, at school, in private. He'd stay quiet completely if he had to.

And if he turned selectively mute by the end of that very year, his mother was the only one not to blame him.

* * *

Izuku broke his self-imposed silence years later, when they were at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, a broken voice shouting above the rest to cover ears, to make sure they didn't _listen_ because he could do this to the people who threatened to hurt him, All-Might, children, but never to his friends. He had strength to use, a gift, but that strength wasn't what he would be using today.

And when every head turned to his, his friends and Aizawa, listening to him without a second's hesitation, Bakugou quicker than the rest of them because he _knew_ , he knew what was going to happen, Izuku felt the song swell in his throat, months of squashing his words, of writing thoughts to paper.

He let that all out, and felt something settle into place, a grim, angry thing that was thankful the villains were squirming in pain, but regretful that he was the one to do it.

All-Might later told him it was the role of a hero, to weigh the pros and cons, the safety and danger.

Izuku still felt as if he could taste ashes in his mouth from where he'd sung a simple song, at simple people, and watched them burn from the inside out all because they had different goals to him.

* * *

 **Alternative Universe 5: The Perfect Blend**

Izuku hummed to himself as he flipped chairs from tables back onto the floor, tucking them into place before slipping back behind the counter to check how the machines were warming up, fresh coffee beans already poured into place. Satisfied, he placed one of his bigger mugs into the fancier machine, one was old and one was slightly newer, and let it start to pour.

Happy everything was set up, Izuku made his way to the door, ignoring the shadow of someone angrily pacing behind the blind. Slowly he let the blind roll up and the pacing person stopped, Bakugou turning to squint through the glass as the rising sun hit his hair and brightened it so it looked like a halo.

Izuku smiled as Bakugou scowled through the glass, dark eyes turning to his watch accusatory, and then back up again. Izuku simply flipped the sign to open, and started to work on the locks.

"About time," Bakugou barked as he shouldered in through the door, beelining for his favourite spot in the far corner, where he could put his back to the wall and people watch. "Your sign says seven, what's this bullshit?"

"It's seven-oh-one, Kacchan," Izuku laughed as he trailed back behind the counter. "Hardly late."

Bakugou huffed angrily as he lifted his bag to the table, dragging out a laptop and several sheaves of paper. He barely grunted in thanks as Izuku set the huge mug at his elbow, already appropriately mixed with the perfect blend of sugar and milk.

"I haven't had my _caffeine_ yet. You want me to fucking die, with this whole 'hardly late' shit."

Izuku laughed, and didn't even flinch as Bakugou slapped several coins and notes on the table, more than enough to cover his drink. He hated taking change back, so Izuku always put the change in the tip jar. This morning, however, he also dug out a freshly baked croissant and plated it up, dropping it onto the table for Bakugou.

"Make sure you eat in the mornings, Kacchan," Izuku chastised. "If you haven't had time for coffee, you haven't eaten! Hero work is _hard_ work. You need the calories. And this!" he plucked at Bakugou's collar, exposing a bruise to the world for half a second before Bakugou could slap his hand away.

"What does it matter?" Bakugou sneered.

"You're a valued customer," Izuku blithely replied as he dropped into the chair opposite. "Not only that, you're my _friend._ Now sit still and do your reports or whatever," and without waiting for a response, he started to hum, reaching forward to take the haphazardly thrown paperwork and straighten it out like he did every morning.

The tap-tap-tap of Bakugou typing at the laptop was always welcome background noise, and when Izuku finished humming, the tapping stopped just long enough so Bakugou could rip the soft croissant in half and shove it at Izuku, his brows pulled down and only relaxing when Izuku accepted the silent apology.

When this weird morning ritual was done, Izuku made his way back to the counter and wrapped himself up in an apron, wiping the side one last time. His café was quiet on a weekday morning, up until the commuters came.

As if on cue, when the clock hit half-eight and the first trickle of customers started to pour in, Bakugou was packing up and leaving, dropping another handful of coins into the tip jar as he went by, as if he hadn't already overpaid Izuku for the coffee.

Izuku wouldn't see him again until ten minutes before close, and Bakugou would often stay long past, waiting as Izuku cleaned up, just to walk him home.

But the daytime held many familiar faces. Sero and Kaminari often dropped in at nine, and it was a coin toss for if they stayed for their coffee, or left with takeaway cups. Not long after would be Iida, coming in to read and drink coffee after his morning exercises.

Midday held Aoyama, Tsuyu, Uraraka and Ashido, bustling in as a group and, everyday without fail, being caught by errant fans still lingering in the café because it was a well-known fact that all four of them showed at the same time, every weekday, no matter the circumstances.

Izuku didn't know what made his place a hero magnet – Bakugou was a given, in fact was probably the cause, still called Kacchan despite the years they had between them now, but even as adults the nickname was given no thought. He didn't mind too much – heroes were once his passion, scribbled notes and hurried evaluations.

The only hero that didn't seem to have a schedule when it came to Izuku's café, called the Golden Corner in laughing reference to his Quirk someone had once called a Golden Voice, was Todoroki Shouto.

Sometimes he showed on a Friday morning, he and Bakugou spitting insults and banter as easy as breathing, sometimes he showed on a Monday evening, the quietest day of the week, swaddled in civilian clothes and a cap as he sequestered himself away. Some weeks, he didn't even show.

That evening, he did. Izuku had already seen him that day during his lunch break, where he shut the store and hid upstairs where he lived to quickly eat and rest. Todoroki had been covered in a news segment, the crew having caught him shortly after a flashy, explosive fight with an equally as flashy villain.

About a half hour before Izuku was due to close, only a few minutes before Bakugou would come banging in, the bell above the door jingled softly.

"Welcome!" Izuku greeted, abruptly standing from where he'd been checking the stock in the lowdown cupboards. Todoroki was in the doorway, looking almost like he'd regretted his decision of walking in. He was still dressed in his hero uniform, looking haggard in a way Izuku couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Are you coming in?" Izuku asked softly, and Todoroki started, before making his away almost automatically towards the seat he always took whenever he came.

Izuku worked in silence for a few minutes, and watched with pursed lips when Todoroki flinched as he set a small china cup down on the edge of his table.

"It's a little late for coffee in my opinion," Izuku offered. "So here's some tea. Just plain green, sorry."

Todoroki took a few false starts, but eventually murmured a rough, "thanks," fingers stretching for the cup. His glove was torn, the exposed fingers mottled, and dark.

"Do you mind if I take a seat?" Izuku asked suddenly, moving even before Todoroki had agreed or disagreed. "I saw you briefly, on the news. It was impressive. You saved a lot of people!"

Todoroki didn't speak, or move, simply stared into his tea with a tight expression, as if he wanted to be anywhere other than there, but didn't know how he'd gotten there in the first place.

"Feeling rough?" Izuku pushed on, trying not to sound too empathetic. "Kacchan sometimes doesn't like to talk after a busy day."

When he was still met with a stoic silence, Izuku sighed and stood.

"You're welcome to stay, but I do close up soon, just so you know," he warned, and moved back behind the counter, once more lowering into a crouch to check his cupboards, humming softly to himself to fill the silence, soft notes echoing through the cafe and lingering in the quiet corners.

When he stood, he nearly had a heart attack, because Todoroki was on the other side of the counter and they were nearly face to face. He must have startled, badly, because Todoroki's face was immediately repentant.

Slowly, he lowered the cup in his hand to the countertop, his exposed skin no longer bruised.

"Bakugou," Todoroki began, as if the words were struggling to leave him. "Once told me about you, when I asked. He said that, when you were younger, you would always sing, no matter the reason. But nowadays, unless you're needed, you stay quiet, because your words heal others but hurt you."

"Kacchan has a big mouth and loose lips," Izuku said primly, swiping the china off the counter to carry to the sink. "You're an important man, Todoroki-san. Not just as a hero, but as a friend. If I didn't help you when I could, what would that make me? Kacchan, as brash as he is, likes you. _I_ like you. I also _don't_ like people being in pain when I can help."

Todoroki hovered quietly for a very long time, making Izuku increasingly nervous as he stared and Izuku cleaned.

Eventually, and quite suddenly, he dug into a near seamless pocket to pull out his wallet, a handful of large notes finding themselves in the tip jar.

And, without another word, he left, striding past a confused, blustery Bakugou who had just pushed the door.

"What the hell was that about?" Bakugou grunted, letting the door slam shut behind him.

"Someone who just needed a little help, I think," Izuku smiled brightly at Bakugou in response. "I'll be done soon, please wait a little longer."

Todoroki was back two days later, interrupting Bakugou's normally solitary morning. He looked less haunted, more cheerful, and even Izuku was drawn into the ribbing between Todoroki and Bakugou as he worked around them.

If Izuku noticed Todoroki visiting more often, in good moods or bad, he never mentioned. He just bustled around his shop as normal, and hummed when he knew he was needed, for the hurts that were sometimes more than the physical.

* * *

Longest chapter to date is an interlude whoops.

Jui-Imouto-Chan offered a coffee shop AU but still quirky. I went with it, thought I'm not sure it's what you expected. I probably couldn't do a full coffee shop AU without it being yet another spin off. Thank you everybody else for the suggestions, I'll keep them in mind next time we get to this point!


	21. Chapter 21

**43\. Fatherly Figure**

The silence was deafening, Izuku's smile frozen on his face, Toshinori equally as frozen opposite him. Very abruptly, Izuku wished the floor would swallow him up. Anything to take him away from the fact he'd just called Toshinori, _All-Might,_ dad.

"Izuku," Toshinori began.

"Oh, _noooo,"_ Izuku whispered back, with feeling, and abruptly began to backpedal, the question he'd absentmindedly asked, endearment attached, already forgotten. What he had asked, nobody knows. He certainly didn't.

Secretly, he wondered if he could viably live in a hole for the rest of his life, but Toshinori was still speaking, a hand reaching out.

The window is looking like a good escape option to flee the embarrassment. Izuku could survive the fall, he'd fallen further, he's sure.

" – and I'm glad you think so fondly of me, slip of the tongue or no," was what Izuku caught when his mind stopped whirling, a tentative hand resting on his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to," Izuku mumbled, mortified. He picked the noble option, the one to stay and deal with his fate.

"I'm not going to lie," Toshinori began. "I don't have any children, a son or no. But I do believe you are the closest thing I have so far. I'm quite fond of you too, you know. It's mutual. I would be proud if you were my son."

Izuku took a few moments to process the words, the gentle squeeze on his shoulder. Then, the sting of embarrassment changed to one of an emotion he couldn't name, his eyes watering.

Toshinori's hand reached up, resting in unruly hair.

"Thank you," Toshinori said sincerely, unblinking as Izuku buried his sniffles and snuffles in a bony shoulder. "But, to answer your question, the results of the practical won't be released until next week, but no, your broken ankle shouldn't impact those results."

And the non-sequitur, from serious to casual, was enough to have Izuku laugh, eyes still shedding tears.

* * *

Later on, Toshinori waited until Aizawa had taken a good sip of tea, took a sip of his own cup, and declared, "Izuku called me dad today. I think it's safe to say, _I'm_ the favourite."

Aizawa choking became his phone background.

* * *

 **44\. Rekindled Friendship**

Izuku's fist whipped up past his face, Bakugou unable to help the flinch at being so close to being struck with a motion born of pure desperation.

Abruptly, he wondered what would have been left of his face had Izuku's hit connected, because the resulting shockwave blew through several floors above them, Iida's startled voice a sound of static in his near forgotten earpiece.

Cognizant, but surprised, Bakugou wondered where on earth Izuku, Midoriya, fucking _Deku_ had been hiding this power the whole time, only to whip it out in time to join Yuuei and destroying Bakugou's chance of being the only person from their middle school to attend.

Afterwards, Bakugou stood with the rest of them, Izuku at his side nursing a brutally broken arm, blood smeared on his face from Bakugou's own ruthlessness. He stood with the rest of them as they watched the building finally collapse in on itself, the walls crumbling under their own weight.

Izuku's power hadn't just ripped through the floors above them, but had torn through the roof, blasting debris into the sky and raining it down on spectators, even as he used his genius plan to give Uraraka the ammo she needed to blindside Iida and take control, to take the win.

Bakugou couldn't help but wonder if he'd been wrong about his once childhood friend after all.

A part of him was reluctant to admit the display of power had been hot. He squashed that part down ruthlessly.

Deku was Deku, after all. Except, apparently, when he wasn't.

Their relationship changed from then on.

Bakugou did his best to remember the days where they slept at each other's houses, laughed at the same cartoons, played with the same toys, and tried his best to treat Izuku with even the smallest bit of respect as he'd had back then.

Izuku, dumb Deku, idiot that he was, welcomed him back as if there'd never been a change. Bakugou didn't know how he'd earned such blind trust and affection, but he was definitely loathe to lose it again.

And nobody would get in way of that. Not if he had his way.

* * *

 **45\. Karaoke Disaster**

"Whose _bright idea_ was it, to decide on karaoke?" Aizawa asked from the doorway of the dorm common room. Several of the at disarray class 1-A cowered at the look on his face. Really, the only one of them that didn't flinch was Jirou, and that was because Izuku was passed out on her shoulder.

"It seemed fun at the time," Kaminari tried to explain, pushing his toes into the carpet. "None of us are hurt or sick, and Midoriya was on board."

"How many of you were there for the lecture describing the effects of Izuku's ability?" Aizawa asked tightly. Every hand went up.

"Then surely, being the bright students that you are, you would remember that Izuku's ability helps the body _latently,_ and not just for injury? Or for upcoming ailments you are unaware you might have?"

"Ah, fuck," Bakugou said loudly, with feeling.

"'Ah, fuck' indeed," Aizawa spat. "Microphones don't amplify his ability but he's within close enough proximity with all of you anyway. Next time you attempt to kill your classmate, I hope you don't try at all, or, at the very least, think before you do."

He strode into the room, students scurrying away like he was Moses and they the red sea. Jirou was barely breathing as Aizawa reached down to scoop up the too limp, lax body from her side. Izuku's breathing was weak, but slow and deep.

In the empty doorway was a completely justified, unrepentant Shinshou, arms wrapped tightly around his middle, tired worried eyes on Izuku. He'd been the one to tattle, after all.

* * *

Shinshou was the one sat by his side when he woke up, attached to all manner of machines.

"That bad?" Izuku croaked, breath misting the oxygen mask.

"Not touch and go," Shinshou murmured quietly, steady hands reaching to help Izuku sit upright. "But definitely weak. I…didn't realise it affected you as much. When you fell asleep, the others said you just got tired but…I know the difference between someone sleeping, and someone unconscious."

He patiently helped Izuku lift the mask off, setting it the side where it wouldn't get tangled, and then offered a glass of water. He kept hold of it, letting Izuku take gentle sips from the cup to wet his dry mouth.

"How long was I out?"

"Just the night, and this morning," Shinshou placated. "Schools out, so I came to visit. According to Recovery-Girl you woke a few times before, but you weren't very lucid. She got you on the drip straight away, left you here with me and Aizawa-sensei, and then from what I heard, ripped your classmates a new one."

"It wasn't their fault," Izuku mumbled, folding his slightly trembling hands on his lap. "I thought…I thought I was better at it. That I'd be fine."

"We all have a long way to go," Shinshou twisted his hands in his shirt, staring at his own fingers. "We're still just teenagers, and have a veritable life time to learn how to adapt, to grow, to learn. You make it sound as if you've failed. You've just learned a new limitation."

Izuku's fingers white-knuckled before loosening.

"Shinshou-kun, I don't know how I survived before without you in my life. Thank you."

"To be honest," Shinshou began dryly, "I don't know how you made it this far either. But you're here, and have plenty further to go. I'll be here if you need me."

Izuku smiled, and let Shinshou help him lie back down, this time curled on his side vulnerably, knees tucked to his chest, and one hand holding onto Shinshou's. He fell back asleep like that, Shinshou keeping a careful, quiet vigil.

* * *

Shinshou continues to be the GOODEST of boys. I love him.


	22. Chapter 22

**46\. Serious Queries**

"Todoroki-kun can I ask you a question?" Izuku said, pen scratching quietly at his paper.

Todoroki's only reply was a considering hum as he continued focusing on his calculus homework intently, his pencil leaving wisps of fog from the cold in it's wake as he scribbled.

"You live with him, so…do you know if Endeavour can turn his face off or is it always on fire?"

Todoroki's cold and already brittle pencil snapped in two. In the study corner that most of class 1-A inhabited there was a silence, pages no longer turning and pens no longer moving as nearly every head lifted to face Izuku, who seemed unaware.

The only person unaffected who continued working on their homework with no more than an eyeroll was Bakugou who had grown up with Izuku and all of his weird and strange questions.

Todoroki stayed quiet for a very long minute, looking at the scraps of wood and pencil lead in his hand, frost creeping along his papers.

Eventually, still quiet, but with a little bit of bite to his words, he replied,

"I don't know. Do _you_ know whether or not All-Might is your father?"

Bakugou's pen suffered the same fate as Todoroki's pencil. However, his was a tad more explosive and served to splatter his suddenly impassive face with a gout of ink. His homework was not salvageable.

"Todoroki-kun," Izuku almost sounded affronted and still his pen scratched against paper.

"You started asking ridiculous questions first," Todoroki sniffed, almost offended as he started dusting loose bits of pencil into his palm.

"I was for _real_ Todorok-kun," Izuku stabbed back, lifting his pen from the table to jab it at Todoroki. "It's a valid question. He can voluntarily light his hero costume on fire, but even in _civilian clothing_ his face is on _fire._ It begs the question – can he even turn it off?"

"Have you thought of asking him this ridiculous question yourself?"

Izuku's attention immediately returned to his work and he muttered something.

Uraraka, watching on, immediately snickered. Izuku's ears turned red.

"I'm sorry?"

"I may have uh. Told Endeavour to uh. Um." Izuku scratched his nose nervously and set about straightening his papers compulsively. "At the very least, I doubt he wants to talk to me, let alone answer any questions."

Uraraka was nearly convulsing with her attempt at keeping in her laughter but she was set about digging out her phone.

"Uraraka," Izuku whispered. "You promised, no more videos."

Uraraka slid her phone across the table and before Izuku could snatch it, Todoroki had already scooped it up. He was so interested he wasn't even offended when Bakugou, still dripping ink from his chin, leaned in to look.

The video was choppy, but showed Izuku in the doorway of the classroom. The camera was front facing, the focus on Izuku's face and Todoroki, reading in the background.

" _I'm the Shouto guardian, guardian of the Shouto,"_ Izuku whispered into the camera.

Uraraka's face popped in next to his.

" _Endeavour quivers before him!"_

After that, the video cut into an edit, the camera facing at a sideways angle focused on Izuku facing down Endeavour in his hero uniform from school, slightly tatty and his brow furrowed.

There was a mumbling in the background noise, but before Todoroki could discern what it was about, the camera zoomed in on Izuku and Endeavour's face as Izuku pointed a finger in Endeavour's face and yelled, awfully loud, _"Oh, fuck off!"_

Uraraka, the person filming, could be heard mumbling, _"Get wrecked."_

Almost immediately All-Might had swept in from somewhere to gather Izuku up, mortified, but by that point the camera had cut off.

"Why did you record it," Izuku whispered, mortified.

"You told Endeavour what for," Uraraka said pompously, accepting her phone back. Todoroki looked like he was trying to hold back a seizure, one hand pressed over his face and his entire body trembling past his control.

"Besides," she added. "I never miss out on anyone getting their ass handed by you, it's like witnessing someone have a spiritual experience."

"I'm a member of the Izuku Experience club," Kirishima muttered.

"Aye," Kaminari added.

"President," Bakugou declared, letting his chair drop back onto all four as he glared down at his mess of papers.

" _Izuku,"_ Todoroki wheezed, as if choking on laughter.

"He annoyed me!" Izuku's voice went shrill with indignance. "Saying this and that about the festival, and – and that I was a distraction for your goals when anybody with two eyes and a brain could figure out they were _his_ goals for you."

"You're going to get into trouble if you keep this up," Todoroki pointed out.

"Endeavour is going to get a kick to the _shin_ if _he_ keeps it up," Izuku rebutted, and when he finished organising his notes, he handed them over to Bakugou who accepted them as warily as someone picking up a snake.

"And for the record," Izuku added, as he shoved his stuff back into his bag. "All-Might is _not_ my father. I called him dad _once._ By _accident."_

With that declaration, his ears burning red, Izuku stormed off, with a, "Keep those Kacchan, I'll make new notes."

* * *

Two days later, at the lunch table, Izuku froze reaching for his drink and asked, in a hushed voice, "If he can pick and choose what to set on fire…his _pubes?"_

Kirishima snorted juice out of his nose and, so completely put out by the question, Todoroki's knee slammed hard into the table, jostling nearly every plate and spreading a fan of ice out around the table.

"Deku what the _fuck."_ Bakugou jabbed his fork angrily in Izuku's direction. "Some of us want to eat you fuckmunch."

"Endeavour," Izuku said insistently. "It seems like he can set his hair on fire without it burning away – of course he'll be resilient to something he can conjure himself, it's a part of him – but does that account for _every_ hair?"

Todoroki calmly set down his sandwich.

"Quirk inheritance between family is very common. Have you ever thought about how yours and All-Might's quirk are nearly copies of each other?"

"Stop answering my questions with questions."

"Why do you think I even _know_ about my father's – " Todoroki made a face.

Izuku lit up in understanding.

"That is an awkward one I guess. Sorry. And inherited quirks not relative to parental quirks are possible too, Todoroki-kun. _Especially_ when they develop late, because most people dote on their parents quirk and try to activate a similar one which triggers at the appropriate age."

"Mic drop," Kirishima muttered and didn't even flinch as Izuku kicked him under the table.

* * *

"He can pick and choose," Todoroki finally said, about five days later huddled over a table with Izuku and Bakugou. "I went up to his face and asked him if the fire was permanent and he looked so shocked that I deigned to talk to him that he turned it off for me just like that. No more cryptic answers from you either; is All-Might your father?"

"Nah," Izuku replied dismissively. "He made me clean a beach to help me build muscle and then made me eat one of his hairs to borrow his power just in time for the entrance exam."

"And here I thought I could trust you to tell me the truth," Todoroki sighed, but he was smiling slightly. "I suppose my question was a little heavier than yours after all."

Both of them engrossed in their work as they were, didn't notice the intense stare Bakugou was giving Izuku's bent head, his face twisted in a thoughtful way.

* * *

Izuku woke up with a shriek as the door was kicked open, his afternoon nap interrupted by Bakugou storming into the bedroom.

"I _knew it!"_ Bakugou hissed, pointing a finger in Izuku's face as if he hadn't just given the other a brief heart attack.

Izuku curled his arms protectively by his chest, trying to calm himself down.

"Knew what, Kacchan?" He asked tiredly, unable to keep from trembling briefly. The loud noise had reminded him of unpleasant things.

Bakugou's face twisted briefly, before he dropped down on the edge of the bed in a heavy sit, even waiting for Izuku to sit upright.

"You were quirkless until the entrance exam. That thing about All-Might's hair was _true_ you bastard."

Izuku felt the blood drain from his face and the words stuck in his throat as he tried to figure out how words worked.

"Um," he began, mouth dry. "I just – I wanted Todoroki-kun off of my back. It was…he kept saying All-Might was my dad and it was…if it got out to my mum, that people thought she was unfaithful. I thought maybe if I treated it as a joke he wouldn't – and I – you can't tell anyone!"

Bakugou scoffed.

"Why would I do that."

Silence. Then –

"Deku, you ate his hair, what the _fuck."_

"He said I had to ingest his DNA," Izuku said miserably.

"That's disgusting. And he made you clean a beach? What if it wasn't All-Might and some skeevy pervert asshole?!"

"Oh, no, it was definitely All-Might. And I had to build up my muscle, remember? He told me if I used the quirk without a suitable body I could have exploded!"

Silence again.

" _What?!"_ Bakugou, ironically, exploded, the bed sheets smoking at the addition of new holes.

"Ah, my bed!" Izuku frantically patted at the marks Bakugou had made. "Kacchan, be careful!"

"What the fuck do you mean exploded?!"

Izuku kept patting at the bed covers, refusing to make eye contact.

"As it sounds. Pop?" Izuku curled his fingers by his chest and then spread them out abruptly, mimicking something popping open under pressure.

Bakugou stared for a long time, before he took a hold of Izuku's collar and pulled him close enough that their noses touched.

"You ever use this fucked up quirk without thinking ever again, I'll fucking kill you myself," Bakugou hissed. "No more risks. No more fighting villains. No more _anything."_

"Kacchan," Izuku said, exasperated. "I've made it this far. I don't need babying."

Bakugou scoffed but didn't deny the accusation.

Izuku was only slightly exasperated at Bakugou following him closely for the remainder of the week, interjecting whenever Izuku showed even the slightest inclination of using his quirk. It was annoying but…

He would deny it if you asked, but Izuku liked the feeling of being doted on. Even if Sero got punched when he joked Bakugou was being clingy.

* * *

guess who's back bitches. laptop has been beaten into submission for the time being.


End file.
